A jumble of tote bags hide near Ruby Kast’s sales terminal.
It’s a sign: the Exchange District’s annual shop local holiday campaign is on. And with a Canada Post strike and an emphasis on Small Business Saturday, Kast is hoping to see new customers walk through the door.
She’s armed herself with Exchange District BIZ tote bags, ready to hand out when a patron spends $75 or more in store. The promotion is part of the “Shop Local, Shop the Exchange” campaign which launches Saturday and ends Dec. 31.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
‘I feel like a lot of people are having to go into those small businesses instead of ordering online (amid the postal strike), so it might work in our favour,’ says Opale Boutique owner Ruby Kast.
“I feel like a lot of people are having to go into those small businesses instead of ordering online, so it might work in our favour,” said Kast, owner of Opale Boutique, when considering the ongoing postal strike.
“We don’t know yet.”
The strike began Nov. 15. Kast’s sales through Poshmark, an online sales platform, have been on pause since.
She’s noticed customers strolling through the Exchange, purchasing holiday presents. An uptick could come Nov. 30, deemed Small Business Saturday, Kast predicted.
The Exchange District Business Improvement Zone began its holiday campaign to shop local in 2020. Upwards of 40 shops, galleries and artists are participating this year. The businesses are all within a 10-minute walk.
Window dressings, tote bags and chances to win a $500 prize abound.
“I think it actually could be a lot smoother (of a) shopping process for people to not have to be waiting on the mail right now,” said Natassia Bezoplenko-Brazeau, co-owner of botanical product retailer Northlore.
She’s switched her deliveries from Canada Post to UPS. Still, online sales are down — shipping costs much more for customers, Bezoplenko-Brazeau said.
She opened Northlore at 75 Albert St. three years ago. Foot traffic in the neighbourhood has gradually gotten better and has been boosted by office workers returning to towers following the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“Most of the retail businesses, I think, have been feeling pretty good both last year and this year … during the holiday season,” said David Pensato, Exchange District BIZ executive director.
Other periods throughout the year continue to be “a little bit soft,” likely due to workers not following pre-pandemic in-office patterns, Pensato said.
Last year, the BIZ quickly ran out of more than 250 “shop local” totes given during the December holiday campaign. It’s the anecdotal metric he gave when considering 2023’s holiday traffic.
The shop local campaign coincides with the Exchange District’s hot beverage week, which runs Dec. 1-7.
The Retail Council of Canada has noted a “deceleration” of online shopping amid the Canada Post strike, said John Graham, the council’s director of government relations for the Prairies.
“We anticipate a continued growth in shopping in-store.”
