Columbia boutiques and gift shops are beginning to open their doors again, but business remains slow for some as customers remain reluctant to shop freely.
Boutiques closed when Gov. Tate Reeves placed the state on a shelter-in-place order March 31 and slowly began reopening after he announced April 24 that the state would shift to a safer-at-home order. The order allowed retail businesses to begin having foot traffic as long as the capacity is no more than 50%.
Three Chic Dames Boutique co-owner Amanda Pickett said the boutique’s online sales have increased, but the foot traffic inside the store has been minimal since reopening April 22. She said even when the boutique was open for only curbside business, it was slow.
“I think that people are still scared to come in,” she said. “We’ve been sanitizing everything and making sure everything is clean, but I don’t know. It’s been difficult for sure.”
Pickett said it’s strange that the boutique was actually busier during the shelter-in-place order than it is now during the safer-at-home order, which alleviated some of the social distancing restrictions in Mississippi. She added that when the coronavirus outbreak began, business slowed down dramatically then picked back up some when the public started receiving their stimulus checks.
While Pickett has been trying to inform customers the boutique is open via social media, she said she thinks many people still don’t know Three Chic Dames has reopened.
The Berry Patch has struggled since the pandemic began. When it was doing curbside business for two weeks, it only had four or five customers during that time. Then after four weeks of being closed, traffic hasn’t picked back up after reopening Wednesday other than floral orders, according to co-owner Andrea Breland.
“I think people are still scared,” she said. “People don’t want to get out more than they have to. It’s just for necessities. They don’t feel comfortable enough yet.”
Breland said she’s hoping with Mother’s Day right around the corner on May 10 that business will begin to start back up. The Berry Patch will be having a Mother’s Day special that if a customer spends $50 or more on gifts or floral and brings in a picture of their mother, they will get a free picture frame.
Sweet Olive Boutique opened its doors to the public again Tuesday, and owner Amy Schepemaker said business has been steady.
“I’d say the traffic has been pretty comparable to what it was like before the coronavirus,” she said. “Business has been good for us so far.”
While the boutique was closed to the public, Schepemaker said it was really difficult communicating with customers about what items they wanted, what sizes they needed and what the prices were while doing curbside business so she’s glad customers can now come back in. She added the nature of the business to begin with allows customers to shop safely, along with the safety precautions in place.
“A few people here and there will come in wearing a mask, and that’s fine. But we don’t get more than three or four people in here at a time anyway so it’s very manageable,” she explained. “Everything is spread out, and we have a lot of Germ-X in here, a lot of Lysol in here. I keep everything wiped down and clean.”
Mississippi is currently in a safer-at-home order that began Monday and extends through May 11.
Pictured Above: Elizabeth Morris checks out a pair of shoes at Sweet Olive Boutique Thursday afternoon. Boutiques are reporting slow traffic as they reopen. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
