Holiday shoppers make downtown Raleigh retailers merry

It is a decidedly merry Christmas for downtown Raleigh business owners, who say foot traffic and sales are at or near pre-pandemic numbers.

All day on Christmas Eve, shoppers were in and out of Deco Raleigh on Salisbury Street, getting last-minute gifts.

Those who spoke to WRAL News said they are mindful of how their dollars are being spent.

"I got a clothing holder, and then I got a candle that’s made in Raleigh," said Bo Byers. "We have friends from out of town, so I wanted to go to a local business to get it."

Caitlyn Rodman said, "I really like to shop local, especially during this time, and we can find really cool, fun stuff."

That concerted effort to support local is showing up positively for downtown businesses.

Deco Raleigh tells WRAL News that they are at 98 percent of what they did in pre-pandemic era Christmas 2019.

At Black Friday Market on Hargett Street, Johnny Hackett Jr. said, "We’ve seen more folks shop cautiously, wear mask, hand sanitizers. We do see people shopping more responsibly, if that’s a thing. They are buying very well. They are spending well."

Hackett says the downtown revival has been a team effort after a tought two years of COVID closures and damage done in protests that followed the death of George Floyd Jr. in police custody.

He pointed to Deco as a partner in that effort.

"They are the folks that have been here the longest, and we rely on because they get a lot of foot traffic, and it rolls into my store and others like Curate Raleigh," he said.

Downtown businesses are conscious of the desire for locally made goods. They are stocking items from local artists and makers. At Black Friday Market, 90 percent of the items are local, and the money goes straight back to the product's creator.

For shoppers that’s something to feel good about.

"I’s really important not to just do 100 percent Amazon Christmas," Rodman said.

Holiday shoppers are expected to spend on average of almost $1,000 per person in 2021, up about 10 percent from 2020, according to the National Retail Federation.