Small business sees boost from holidays

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - The holiday decorations are up and the temperatures are down.

That means the busiest shopping season of the year — the holiday season — is in full swing. But chain stores aren’t the only ones getting the foot traffic, local businesses got a boost after Thanksgiving as well.

Christine Chandler is an artist at the Blue Morning Gallery on Palafox Street in Pensacola. She said the turnout for Small Business Saturday was more than she expected.

“The day was phenomenal Saturday and I really think the local people came out to support local businesses. What they get here at the Blue Morning Gallery is something unique,” said Chandler.

Business owners said the sales have been similar to Gallery Night sales, a Thursday night event that encourages folks to visit local businesses downtown.

Many owners say they’ve seen an increase in business downtown in the last year. One of them said Small Business Saturday helped them break sales records.

"We have pages and pages of sales. On Gallery Night, we’ll typically have about 6 pages of sales. Saturday we had four or five pages of sales,” Chandler said.

Monica Velez is the owner of La Monique Boutique, a local jewelry and clothing store.

“I did see an increase for a Saturday. There were a lot of people just looking, but that’s okay too. We want those people to get ideas for the holidays,” said Velez.

Both Chandler and Velez say they believe the personal touch of small business is something chain stores can’t match.

“Being family oriented and showing people you’re here from the heart through the good times and the bad times, that’s what it’s about,” Velez said.

For more information on businesses downtown, as well as hours of information, click here.