Ann Cantrell opened her Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope in 2007. It was a dream of hers for years to own her own business.
"The Blue Ribbon stands for the best that life has to offer, so we curate items together that we put our stamp of approval on and really try to curate stories in the process," Cantrell said.
Cantrell previously worked in the fashion industry.
What You Need To Know
- A Shopify-Gallup poll found that nearly two-thirds of probable Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers are likely to buy items for themselves or their household on these sale days
- Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope reports that around 35% of their yearly business comes during the holiday season
- At Bean and Bean Coffee Roasters on Broadway in the Financial District, online customers often become in-person customers because they want to come into the store and buy gifts
It's the 17th holiday season for Cantrell at the store, which was able to survive the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to a robust online presence. This week starts a big push for sales, as around 35% of their yearly business comes during the holiday season.
"We are really grateful that people come from all over the city, all over the country and visiting during this time. It’s a really super important time of the year. We really appreciate shopping local and shopping small," Cantrell said.
At Bean and Bean Coffee Roasters on Broadway in the Financial District, owners are hoping to percolate even more business as holiday shopping kicks off.
Opened in 2008, the cafe is owned by the mother and daughter team of Jiyoon and Rachel Han.
They spend two or three months out of the year traveling to coffee farms — the majority owned by women — to pick out the beans they sell both online and in their stores.
"Many, many years ago we started going on these origin trips to meet with the coffee producers to learn their stories, and now we have so many direct relationships in Central and South America," Jiyoon Han said.
Han says they hope to bring customers into stores to buy their coffee, and attract others to their website, offering discounts on their coffee and teas for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
"I think the holiday season is really exciting because foot traffic sometimes will slow down, but the online gifting season is huge for us," Han said.
Han says that often online customers become in-person customers, starting their shopping online, and then coming into the store to see and smell the products, before purchasing more for gifts.
It is all part of a key time for small businesses across the five boroughs.