UPPER TOWNSHIP – Jessica Englehart had heard about the warning signs and the challenges emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic going into the holiday season, especially with the concerns over inflation and a possible recession.
So far, the vice president of LEH Soap Company, headquartered in Marmora, and some other area merchants said they have not experienced many of those concerns as they found sales, if not brisk, certainly comparable and on par with its usual shopping seasons.
“We’ve been very fortunate because we are still getting good crowds,” Englehart told the Sentinel. “If anything, they are not making the big purchases that they have in the past but our customers are still coming in.”
According to survey data from MetLife and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 85 percent of small business owners interviewed said they were concerned about inflation at year’s end, with one-third of them saying it was their top worry as pandemic concerns wane.
Englehart said LEH Soap, with locations in Ocean City, Smithville and Rehoboth Beach, Del., said she has seen strong sales in smaller items, like their gift bags, which has been a pleasant surprise so far this year.
Bob Hartley, of Ocean City’s Playland Amusements, said business has been good along the Boardwalk and it continues to bounce back from the pandemic and the current challenges from the economy.
“Right now, things are zooming along,” Hartley said. “For us this time of the year it’s really hard to say until the end of the season. We have walk-up sales and we have online sales. You have rain days where sales are terrible and then on warm weekend days, everybody comes down here and you have a boom and it all balances out.
“Right now, I don’t think the economy is hurting us. People are still coming down to Ocean City and we offer a great product as a city and business. I would guess that 2023 as well is looking pretty good.”
Hartley said, though, he has been keeping his eye out on how the local and national economies continues to evolve post the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During times of inflation, one of the first things to go are vacations,” Hartley said. “If people aren’t coming to Ocean City because prices are up or cutting back, you have to feed the family and heat your home.”
He admitted the shutdowns from 2020 “really hurt” Playland, where people were discouraged from traveling and if they did, they had to avoid anything resembling large crowds – exactly what is the lifeblood for places like Playland.
“We could go back to that but we’re optimistic that we won’t,” Hartley said. “Vacations aren’t a necessity. People have a lot of other things to worry about. We have to keep an eye on the economy. We haven’t changed prices so we can keep people coming back.”
COVID-19, though, has not gone away. According to some of the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, weekly trends for new cases and deaths related to the disease are up in December as compared to recent months.
There were more than 458,000 COVID-19 recorded nationwide for the week ending Dec. 7, mostly from the more contagious but less dangerous subvariant Omicron BA.5.
By comparison, though, that’s off the peak of 5.6 million infections in one week in January of this year and 843,000 weekly infections at this same time last year.
“COVID is still going around but most people seem comfortable,” Hartley said. “You still see people coming in wearing masks and that’s perfectly fine. Everybody has a different set of health circumstances, and they have to do what they have to do.
“It really doesn’t affect our operation but 2022 was much more back to normal than it’s ever been in the past. Looking forward we think we’re going to have a solid 2023.”
For Karen Jones, who runs The Hub in Somers Point with her mother Carol Dodd, she’s more concerned about the weather — as it’s been too good.
“It’s too warm,” Jones said with a laugh. “We usually get the workmen outside. When it’s cold, they want to come inside and get a jacket. All of a sudden, their shoes are leaking and wet and need new boots. For us, that’s what brings them in more.
“Usually when it’s cold, windy, wet or snowy, that is when we do our best. The worst the weather, the better business we do.”
The Hub supplies work apparel and accessories. Jones said The Hub’s ability to survive the COVID-19 lockdowns of two years ago is now starting to pay off.
“When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the other stores went belly up,” Jones said. “So now, all of their customers are coming to us. We’re doing well.”
Jones said The Hub has benefitted from moving its store to a busier location in the Somers Point Plaza.
“We recently moved on Aug. 1 further down to where the Target is, but we’re doing well,” Jones said. “We’re at the other end of the plaza. There’s more foot traffic and there are more customers coming in.”
At Ocean City’s Second Chance Boutique, the thrift shop on Asbury Avenue, Pastor Butch Norton said the nature of the business and customers has kept it sheltered from the swings that come with holiday shopping and the pandemic.
“Our sales are not as affected by the holidays as many stores,” Norton said. “We don’t see as much of fluctuation. Virtually everything we have is used, so even by Christmas, even if people who don’t have a whole lot, they have the option.
“They’re trying to figure out a way to get something new for their children or for someone else in the family. So, we don’t see as much of the Christmas shopping push.”
Norton said one of the things that have remained constant through the years is the interest in women’s clothing and furniture. He said those have always proven popular among customers at Second Chance, regardless of the season.
“It’s not a surprise but women’s clothing is a huge seller,” Norton said. “A lot of people are looking to stretch their dollar a little further, so this is their weekend out, so clothing, especially women’s clothing, is the No. 1 seller. The second-best seller, and it’s not a surprise for us, is furniture. Here, people can save a lot of money on one item.”
Local businesses have shown their resiliency regardless of the economy and the continuing threat of COVID-19.
By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel