Small Business Saturday was successful, promising, say some Indianapolis retailers

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Indianapolis retailers have been welcoming shoppers for Small Business Saturday while hoping to hang on during the pandemic.

Some store managers say Small Business Saturday was successful, promising and was a start to strong sales on Mass Ave.

Store manager of Stout’s Footwear Sara Klimenko told News 8 the store has seen a steady flow of shoppers.

“It’s nice to see people out for the season just to have a little bit of holiday cheer and we know people are spending money and are gonna have the Christmas that everybody wants to have,” said Klimenko.

People have been scouring for big bargains and they’re choosing to do it locally.

“Everybody is having sales today, everybody,” said Kevin Baret.

It’s been nonstop foot traffic at Silver in the City, but employees are making shopping safe by accepting reservations through text message only.

“It’s kind of like a restaurant: We take your name and phone number and then when people exit we click you and you head right in,” said store manager Kelly Williams.

Williams said while the store has kept maximum capacity, it’s not quite making up for loss of revenue since the pandemic started.

The store manager added, “On Small Business Saturday our store is shoulder to shoulder full of people so it’s hard to catch up with that business I think. We’re also aren’t selling as much merchandise this year as in previous years because the vendors are actually hard to get the merchandise from.”

Many local retailers on Mass Ave can agree the majority of sales have been made online.

“Not just because of the pandemic, but I think the whole world has leaned towards an easier online experience,” Klimenko added.