With 2022’s Winter shopping season coming to a close, independent Chicago boutiques are discussing how they pushed back on large retailers’ discounts this past weekend.

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The National Retail Federation found that 196.7 million consumers shopped this Thanksgiving weekend, with many shopping at big brands like Amazon, which had record breaking sales, as well as small boutiques in their neighborhood.

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Mintel, a market research agency, found in their “Winter Holiday Shopping - US - 2022” that consumers have a desire to support small businesses this year. However, “rising prices and the need to save money will divert some purchases into value-based outlets,” they said.

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Independent boutiques in Chicago said that overall, their 2022 holiday season had positive responses from consumers. Clara Muffitt, the buyer for Art Effect in Lincoln Park, said that even though their sales for the holidays are less than last year, they are still very grateful to see clients return and support their business.

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“We have such great stuff, and that's reflected in our windows which brings a lot of people in, but we do have a pretty serious clientele of regulars,” said Muffit.

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Similarly, Squasht Boutique, a designer focused independent store in Ukrainian Village, has had a good start to their holiday season despite being closed for three months due to a fire in August.

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After dealing with the damage, Squasht was ready for holiday shopping. “[The fire] might have had some impact when we opened back up. Like people were ready to support us again,” owner Lesley Timpe said. “Our holiday season is off to a good start. We had a really good Small Business Saturday and we had a good Black Friday.”

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As to how these businesses managed to have a great turnout despite competing with door busting deals from large retailers, it doesn't seem to be from promotions or marketing but mostly from returning and dedicated clients.

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Shayna Barsieod, owner of Shay Divas Closet in Fernwood, said that her business actually did better on Thanksgiving rather than the promotional shopping days this year. She said that “we market the same and maybe even a little bit more” during this weekend.

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However, Barsieod believes that there’s not a true value in promotional days like Small Business Saturday. “To be honest, I think it’s just the name that people run with. It’s not for me. And I speak for myself. I don’t think that Small Business Saturday is a big thing that really increases sales.”

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Muffitt feels similarly as she said, “Small Business Saturday, I feel like it doesn't really have a huge effect on us, because we're busy every day.”

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Even though the marketing and promotional strategies of these smaller boutiques don’t compare to the larger retailers, they were still successful.

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Timpe replaced holiday sales for free candles and smaller items to those that spent over $200 at Squasht. “Because our profit margins aren’t really as high as a big box store, it’s harder for us to do a larger discount. We can’t really compete with Black Friday type discounts,” Timpe said.

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Similarly, Muffitt said, “we just did like a small 25% off all clothing sale, so I mean, it was a pretty big sale for us.”

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Barsieod recommends other small businesses to promote their sales on all forms of social media and mailing platforms during this holiday season, as she found that marketing on TikTok helped her business this weekend.

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