Jim Parrack, Shane McWhorter, Cleo Rajon and Daniel McLoud, from left, talk about the health of Oklahoma City’s retail sector going into the holiday season Wednesday at a forum presented by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. At right is moderator Cynthia Reid. (Photo by Kathryn McNutt)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Local retail is strong going into the holiday season with some lingering effects from the pandemic, a panel of experts said Wednesday at a Greater Oklahoma City Chamber forum.
“Retail over the course of the pandemic has done better than most people think,” said Jim Parrack, senior vice president of Price Edwards & Co.
Nationally, third-quarter retail sales were up 28% from the same period in 2020 and October retail sales were up 12% from pre-pandemic 2019, Parrack said.
“Traffic has been exceptional, and the holiday season is looking good,” said Shane McWhorter, general manager of Classen Curve-Nichols Hills Plaza.
As COVID-19 spread, the locations benefited from being open-air centers, where customers felt safer shopping, McWhorter said. Tenants took additional steps to make customers comfortable in their stores, he said.
Likewise, they worked to make employees feel comfortable and succeeded in retaining staff, he said.
The labor shortage has been extremely challenging for small retailers, said Cleo Rajon, executive director of the Independent Shopkeepers Association.
“It’s a nightmare right now,” Rajon said. “They are not being able to grow and meet the demands of their customers.”
The unemployment rate for the Oklahoma City metro area has dropped to 1.9%, the lowest in the more than 30 years of recorded data, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“1.9% unemployment is not good. It’s way too low,” Parrack said. “Who wants to move their business to Oklahoma City if they can’t hire anybody?”
The staffing challenge means some store owners have made the hard decision to reduce hours or days of operation, Rajon said.
Online shopping increased with the pandemic – or in the case of some store started from scratch, she said. It represents about 10% of all sales and is not going away.
Local store owners did a good job of adjusting by adding curbside pickup, installing a drive-thru window or using Facebook Live to introduce new products, Rajon said. They also helped one another.
“Our local shops here are a very tight-knit group. We’re supportive of each other,” she said.
That spirit of collaboration and the ability to pivot is what kept Trade Supply Co. going through the pandemic challenges, owner Daniel McLoud said.
Trade began as a holiday pop-up in downtown Oklahoma City in November 2013. After moving into a storefront, they began manufacturing products for the shop and then began wholesaling those products. Today they have a contract to supply items to all the state parks in Oklahoma, McLoud said.
“Focusing on relationships, not sales, is why we’re successful,” he said.
The supply chain situation has had a big effect on the company, McLoud said.
“We monitor certain sites every six hours so we can order things we need for manufacturing,” he said. “You have to have plan B’s and C’s in place for when some piece is unavailable and find the closest thing you can.”
Supply chain issues mean some retailers are going to have to search for local sources to stock their shelves, Parrack said.
Some retailers have increased prices because they put on more debt during the pandemic and others closed shop altogether, he said.
Closures are not uncommon because retail is one of the most dynamic sectors, Parrack said. “Even in a good year, 3,500 stores close nationwide.”
The panelists were optimistic about retail in 2022.
Large projects that were delayed by the pandemic will start moving, Parrack said.
Rajon said several members of the Independent Shopkeepers Association have projects coming and plans to open new locations. She also sees a trend toward microshops where owners “can experiment with entering the local market in a less risky way.”
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