'Nonessential' Northern California retailers work to win back customers after coronavirus lockdown

As state and local governments this month began to relax restrictions to reopen the economy after two months of coronavirus restrictions, North Bay retailers are scrambling to find the right combination of social media, enticing storefronts and personal outreach to lure virus-wary customers back.

Curbside delivery is allowed for florists, sporting goods and bookstores, but many of their customers know what they want. Shops that sell clothing, toys and gifts have it rougher because customers are accustomed to browsing before they buy.

“How the heck can you do it at curbside?” Sonoma County Go Local Executive Director Janeen Murray asked. “This is the time for guerrilla marketing. They have to work hard to drive the customer to (their) websites. Businesses that have a social media following will be in better shape coming out of this.”

That may be a problem for enclosed shopping mall retailers, which rely heavily on walk-in traffic and not individual marketing efforts. These shops devote more of their money toward rent, she said.

At $403.9 billion, U.S. retail sales experienced its worst decline ever in April, dropping a massive 16.4% in one month, according to a Census Bureau report.

Murray applauds retailers that have adapted quickly.

Debbie McCormick, whose Sunnyside Cottage & Gifts in Santa Rosa has been in business for 15 years, didn't want to go down without a fight. She made her storefront a wall of merchandise to attract window shoppers at the Montecito Shopping Center. She turned her displays to face out toward the street.

“We have to keep the lights on,” McCormick told the Business Journal. If customers see something they like, she sets it on a table outside with hand sanitizer. She's developed an appreciation for the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“To think I really hated it (once),” she said.

Toying with fundamentals

Farther south, Fundemonium toy store owner Steve Elliott decided to paint a big welcome sign on his 60-foot storefront window. He also snapped photos of all his shelves filled with toys, games and crafts and put them on Instagram. He also uses his website, Facebook page and an enhanced newsletter to show off his merchandise and keep the customers informed.

When he gets a bite off any of the marketing venues, those customers become more precious than ever. In other words, there's a lot of hand holding.

“It's exhausting. I'm doing more work,” he said.

It's no wonder since his store spans 14,000 square feet of pure fun and joy - including an indoor slotted racetrack. The store was once the site of many events like birthday parties, an aspect of doing business in his Sonoma County community that he misses.

“The big thing for us is we've always been active in the community as a hub. We've built a lot of good will,” said Elliott, who has recently been able to open his store.

Even with the store open, his business balance sheet is about 30% down. Still, when the shutdown occurred, he thought disappearing sales would be valued at twice that amount.

“Some say if you're closed (at this time), it makes things a lot easier for people to forget about you,” he said.

Napa opens doors, for some

Taking that chance has been Jim Stancikas, who opened MacBella clothing in Napa last August. The small boutique owner has seen no other option but to remain closed, because apparel is the type of retail merchandise consumers like to try on in person, he stressed.

“Window shopping has not been for us,” Stancikas said.

Granted, Napa County has just been given the green light to reopen given the state's new guidelines. With far less of an outbreak than other counties, Napa meets the expanded “Stage 2” criteria in Newsom's four-part process. Social distancing and signs will be required.

Stancikas is eager to getting back to more of a business-as- usual mode, but he and his wife are preparing for the major milestone. He's aiming for a reopening next week.

“We need to establish how we want to introduce ourselves to the customers. We're trying to figure out how to do it,” he said, adding that his “fingers are crossed.”

Still, the prospect of seeing people patronize his shop represents a huge improvement.

Marin has its moment

Contrary to her Napa retail counterpart, Carolina Boutique owner Karen Loftus disputed how being open for curbside retailing in Mill Valley can be a waste of time.

Loftus jumped all over the opportunity when Marin County reopened to that method of retailing last week. In a day and age when many retailers are only raking in half the revenue in receipts, the challenge is on for Loftus.

The store owner has established Facetime appointments with customers who want to browse via social media. She's called her devoted clientele to conduct outreach. She posts pictures all over social media such as Facebook and Instagram as well as the store website.

Along with making personal deliveries, Loftus - who managed the store for six years before owning it - even has a strategy for allowing customers to test whether their purchases work. If a bag of merchandise is returned, she leaves it alone for 48 hours in a quasi quarantine.

Unlike other shop owners that have mounted their storefronts with merchandise, Loftus has left her front uncluttered to allow people to see into the establishment.

Cities write off parking

With North Bay cities recognizing the huge plight of their small businesses, these local governments have also gotten creative with helping to connect customers with the shops.

The cities of San Rafael and Napa have waived time limits on parking, including the two-, and three-hour zones, for starters. On busy Fourth Street, San Rafael has designated curbside parking spots. Only warnings are issued to violators.

Officials in the Marin city as well as Napa will hand out parking citations for enforcement associated with safety, such as violations in bus, red, disabled and fire hydrant zones.

“We understand the challenges these businesses face. Anything we can do to help,” San Rafael Parking Manager Jim Myhers said.