Find great gifts, personal service, help the community
OCEAN CITY – Shopping locally here in southern New Jersey not only offers gift-buyers a bountiful and unique selection – and the appeal of seeing and feeling items – it means helping the local economy.
“The biggest value of shopping at your local stores is that you’re supporting your community,” said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. “Most shop owners either live in the city they are working in or relatively close. That’s an important concept for people to shop local.”
“Not only that, these small stores have the resources now that they’ve never had before of stocking up and having some of the best quality retail lines that you can have,” she added.
“Ocean City is a prime example of that. Our downtown has become one of the highlights of people’s trips and our neighboring communities where they come all year long to shop downtown. They’ll come for breakfast, they’ll shop, they’ll buy gifts, they’ll come for lunch, they’ll stop by for dinner. It’s become a very popular place to shop and dine.”
Malls had been the go-to places for shopping, but many anchor stores in malls in the area have closed, limiting their appeal, and the pandemic has changed buying patterns.
“The decline is sad, but everything is cyclical,” Gillian explained. “That has helped downtowns like Ocean City where people are shopping online or are coming to downtowns because they want to have that experience of shopping. It is an experience where they go in and touch things and see things and they go to lunch, or dinner or breakfast. It’s part of the retail experience. And I think that’s something people really enjoy.”
Ocean City also has added appeal because of the chance to shop in different areas, getting to know the retailers personally and enjoying other events while in the resort to shop.
“You can walk on the boardwalk and shop on the boardwalk with the stores that are open, but you also enjoy that hallmark downtown where you get to go,” Gillian said. “It’s almost a buy-in now where people are becoming close to the retailers inside. They know (customers) by name. If you go to the sneaker store, she knows your size and what you want. It’s a very close relationship that people are feeling now.
“They really understand the concept more – malls are out, downtowns are in. And Ocean City happens to be one of the best downtowns in New Jersey,” she said.
Helping entice shoppers to Ocean City is the host of events – from car shows, retail specials such as the pre-Thanksgiving Earlier than the Bird promotion to horse and carriage rides.
“I think they complement your experience with shopping,” Gillian said. “You’re not just going someplace. You’re going and having an experience – life is not just about things, it’s about experiences and I think that enhances shopping local.”
She cited the weekend horse and carriage rides through December and late shopping on Friday evenings. “We’re going back to being open until 8 o’clock like the old Hospitality Nights that (longtime downtown business owner) Carolyn Murphy used to have. We’re looking at those as an experience to enjoy downtown with the lights. It’s picturesque.
“You feel so good when you go downtown with the music and the decorations, the horse and carriage rides. All those things just add to the whole experience. It’s fun in Ocean City,” she said.
Gillian also pointed out that along with so many longstanding businesses that people have come to enjoy, there are new businesses as well to help attract an even broader range of shoppers.
“We have so many new young people downtown,” she said. “It is fun to see new generations come in. … And it’s lots of fun to see what they’re bringing in.”