HAMILTON, Ohio — As the holiday season comes to an end, that means the busy shopping season is too. One local business owner shares how this year’s holiday shopping season faired compared to years past.
What You Need To Know
- Carrie O’Neal Brenner owns Scripted Studio in downtown Hamilton
- Since opening in 2020, she said this has been her best holiday shopping season yet
- But according to a recent survey, 52% of small business owners say that this year’s holiday shopping season did not meet their expectations compared to last year
- O’Neal Brenner said it’s important to continue to shop small all year long
It’s the start of a new day of the busy holiday shopping season for Carrie O’Neal Brenner at Scripted Studio in Hamilton, and one step closer to the end of her busiest time.
O’Neal Brenner packs up online orders ahead of the holiday. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
As she wraps up the last of her holiday orders, she’s grateful for the support.
“This has been the best holiday season yet,” O’Neal Brenner said.
But it didn’t come without some worries and challenges. O’Neal Brenner said she was concerned ahead of Shop Small Saturday because she saw less publicity for shopping small than in years past.
Scripted studio is a card, stationary and gift store. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“As we were leading into that Shop Small Saturday, which is a big deal for mom-and-pop places like this, I was worried what the turnout would be,” she said. “But it was actually wonderful. Hamilton is an amazing community and people showed up in droves.”
But not all small businesses are feeling the love this season. According to a survey from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, over half of small businesses said their profits are not meeting their expectations of last year. A lot of that is due to inflation, something O’Neal Brenner said she’s seen plenty of.
O’Neal Brenner says it’s important to shop small all year long. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“Each individual product in one order had gone up two dollars per piece just over the matter of a month, two months,” O’Neal Brenner said. “So that obviously gets passed on to the consumer and yeah, it’s just concerning all around.”
But as customers continue to shop small this season, O’Neal Brenner hopes they will still do so after the holidays, too.
O’Neal Brenner checks out a customer at her store. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“I’m so thankful that people show up again at the holidays, but I just don’t want you to forget about us the rest of the year,” she said. “The holidays kind of help you get through that dry spell after the holidays, but it definitely isn’t enough to carry a small business for an entire year. But I definitely worry, worry might be a strong word, but I’m definitely concerned with inflation and a recession and all that, that I don’t want people to forget about us.”
