There are a lot of Grinches out there this holiday season – terrorists, a battered economy and mounting job losses – but local business owners are saying that that despite all the “bah humbugs,” Hoboken residents have shown resilience and spent their money this gift-giving season.
"The city is busy and bustling," said the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce President John Parchinsky last week. "The weekend before Christmas is historically one of the busiest of the season, and we’re very optimistic that it will be a successful one for all of the businesses here in Hoboken."
Carrying three bags of gifts in her left hand and pulling along her 4-year-old daughter, Silvia, Willow Street resident Marcy Silverberg, 34, said Monday that her family will celebrate Christmas normally. "Sure, things have happened, but we’re spending Christmas as we would any other year," said Silverberg. "We’re spending it with family, we’re buying presents and eating too much food. Times are harder but that is even more of a reason to celebrate the joys you do have."
The Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union Nation Association recently released a survey saying that 57 percent of consumers plan to spend the same amount of money as they did last year. Of those surveyed, 28 percent plan to spend less money this holiday season than last year. Compare this with the numbers in 2000 where 56 percent of consumers said they planned to spend the same as the did the previous year, while 24 percent planned to spend less, and there is a clear trend that suggests that there might not be as large of a holiday spending contraction as many might expect.
"I’m spending as much this year as we did last year," said mother of two and Park Avenue resident Sally Markum, 47. "We’re not going to change our life just because things around us have changed."
From the business side, merchants are saying progress is good, comparatively. "We’ve been very busy for the last month," said Michael Garcia, a partner at Sparrow Wine and Liquor. "We may not be seeing as many of the big corporate orders, but the walk-in traffic has been outstanding. We may not be much ahead of last year but we haven’t seen a decline, which is good. I think there are many more small gatherings and house parties this year instead of the large company and corporate events."
Brian Battaglia, the owner of Battaglia’s Housewares, agreed that this year’s holiday traffic is on par with years past.
"Since Thanksgiving we’ve been pretty consistent with last year’s sales," said Battaglia from his store Wednesday. "It doesn’t really feel like to me that people are down and not spending money. I think this upward trend will stick around well past the gift-giving season. If it were only a week or two of good sales that would be one thing. But it’s been busy for well over a month now. We’re hopeful that it will continue through the New Year."
When it come to kids, one toy shop owner in town said that in light of a rough year, parents might be willing to give up some of their own luxury items to make sure their children have a special holiday season.
"Overall, everything has been brisk," said Big Fun Toys owner Joe Falzarano. "I’ve got no complaints, sales have been good and our web site has been on fire. If I had to guess, I would say we’re up about 10 percent from last year. I think people did have an especially rough third and fourth quarter and are sacrificing items in some areas, but not when it comes to their kids. In the hardest of times parents make sure to make the sacrifices necessary to assure that there is something special under the tree."
Falzarano added that Washington Street in particular is attracting business from non-Hoboken residents. "I’m been very encouraged that more and more people who live outside of Hoboken come to Washington Street as a destination," he said. "In the past year it has become a friendlier place to shop overall."
At area restaurants, there may not be as many large company parties, but according the Joyce Flinn, the owner of Amanda’s restaurant, people are now more than ever realizing the importance of connecting with their family, friends and co-workers.
"This season, we haven’t been doing the large corporate dinner parties, but we’ve actually been doing better when it comes to small groups and office parties," she said. "Because of everything that has happened, I think many people believe that it is more important than ever to acknowledge the people you work with."