LAWTON, Okla. – Local vendors are counting on the community’s support more than ever this holiday season.
Country Lace Boutique Manager Staci Kloxin said the pandemic has not taken a toll on the business, but she’s still counting on the holiday crowd to keep sales strong.
“Our big deal that we do is our Christmas wish-list where the wives come in and feel out their Christmas list, and I’ve dealt with 10 husbands this morning. So they’re still enjoying the fact that we’ve still open and everybody is still shopping local. I definitely think that’s been good as far as our business goes,” Kloxin said.
Kloxin said there’s another way that has helped keep them afloat during these uncertain times.
“Sezzle been a big deal for us this holiday season. It’s basically like layaway, but you get to take your merchandise so we’ve had a lot of people using sezzle who might now of used sezzle before just because they’re in a different situation than they have prior holiday seasons,” Kloxin said.
Eddie Hamra over at Edward’s Men’s Wear said he isn’t expecting sales to look like years past but is hoping for the crowds as well.
“I am, and we see that every day. There are plenty of people locally that do shop with us we’ve been here since 1954. We have had a lot of friends and family, friends that we are waiting on second and third-generation customers now,” Hamra said.
To help these small businesses and others, the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce has started the Grow the 580 Program.
“It is a community currency program that was designed with the Chamber of Commerce and the local businesses to help reinvest the dollars that are local,” President Krista Smith-Ratliff said.
Smith-Ratliff said all you have to do is visit the Chamber’s website, pick a local business, the amount, and give the gift certificate out on Christmas.
