SARASOTA, Fla. — Holiday shoppers are delivering a rush of business to end the year on an island where many businesses have been desperate for foot traffic.
What You Need To Know
- St. Armand’s businesses are getting a boost in sales after more shoppers purchase items on the island
- The Giving Tree owner says they tripled their sales for the month of December this year compared to December last year
- The Giving Tree business owners hope to hit 10% growth next year
One St. Armands Circle business owner says its sales numbers have tripled this month compared to last December.
It’s a notable difference from last year, when both businesses and residents were still recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Deb Goldberg, who owns The Giving Tree Gallery, said her business has been through many storms, but nothing compared to last year.
She said 5 feet of water filled the business and ruined $70,000 worth of inventory.
“It was — we were just on automatic pilot,” she said. “We just went to work and did everything we needed to do, high adrenaline, and cleaned it up and called the contractors.”
Even though they reopened about a month after the storm, she said the island felt closed.
“I think the perception that St. Armands was closed and still under water and still struggling was what we battled the most,” Goldberg said. “Because we all really did bounce back fairly quickly. After the first of the year, there were maybe 30% of the stores open.”
But she said this year brought new life to St. Armands.
Goldberg said that more people are shopping, and this December’s sales are triple what they were last December.
“We’re overall, year-over-year better,” she said. “Some days were fantastic — tons of shoppers, tons of sales. And some days, you know, there were hours where people wouldn’t walk in the store.”
Goldberg said she expects the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be one of the busiest of the year for her store.
“The fun part is seeing both new people and local people come in,” she said.
It’s a busy time for stores, and Goldberg said there is a feeling of normalcy for many.
She said she hopes to hit 10% growth next year at The Giving Tree Gallery.
“I’m really hoping for at least a 10% year-over-year increase from last year,” she said. “I would be thrilled with that. But I always shoot for the moon, you know, hoping for double that.”
