Shopping Small: Springfield-area businesses push for last-minute shoppers to shop small – KYTV

Shopping Small: Springfield-area businesses push for last-minute shoppers to shop small – KYTV

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The Saturday before Christmas is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. December 19-20 marks the full final weekend ahead of the holiday season, and it could make a world of difference for small businesses.

Olivia Thompson is the General Manager of the Queen City Soda & Sweets (QCSAS), in Downtown Springfield. She explained that COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on local business owners.

She said many shops downtown took a hit during the pandemic, with some having to find new and or creative ways to keep their doors open. Thompson said QCSAS and a few other places rolled out gift cards and gift baskets this year as a way for people to support while being able to still shop small later on. While the new additions have helped with foot traffic at the QCSAS, she said it’s refreshing to see the overall foot traffic picking up the downtown area.

”It’s been really awesome to see how Springfield is coming to support us and support other small businesses. We see people come in with bags from other businesses and I think people are starting to prioritize that more than ever before.”

With the final holiday shopping weekend in full swing, Thompson emphasized that it’s keeping small businesses hopeful amid the pandemic as people continue to shop small. As a way to keep the foot traffic coming up in QCSAS and in the downtown area, Thompson said they’re hosting Santa Saturday on December 19, 2020. While this isn’t the first event that they’ve thrown to draw up customers during the pandemic, Thompson said this event is important as a final push to help shop local.

“We’re just trying to get people excited and coming downtown because there are a lot of wonderful small businesses here. So we’ve just tried to stay positive and come up with new ways to bring people here.”

SANTA SATURDAY AT QUEEN CITY SODA & SWEETS:

Santa will be giving out FREE Oreo candy canes to kids from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plus, every guest can choose between a free sweet or sour candy sample cup. Thompson said they want to make this a fun and safe event for everyone. There will be hand sanitizing stations at the front entrance, a mask is required for those ages 11 and up who enter the store, and you can eat your candy outside once you get it.

Check out the It’s All Downtown local gift guide here!

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

Copyright 2020 KY3. All rights reserved.

Published at Sat, 19 Dec 2020 16:55:00 +0000