NORFOLK, Va. — Many locally owned businesses in the Ghent and Downtown Norfolk areas are gearing up for the holiday season with exclusive deals and sales, but online deals and shopping have made it challenging to gain in-person customer traction.
While Cyber Monday may provide some opportunities, someone business owners in Hampton Roads told News 3 they would prefer customers to actually enter the store and interact with the associates face-to-face.
"You get to develop a relationship with everybody more than anything else," said East Coast Bikes employee Kyle Lippiatt tells News 3. "It’s the type of thing that you come right through the door and say 'hey, oh hey Harry, hey Dave',” and send them back to exactly who they want to talk to and we take care of it."
Without in-person interactions, it becomes harder for smaller businesses to promote their products and services.
In order to combat this issue, business owners are creating sales and offers that get consumers excited about their products. For Freeda Steele, the owner of Catnip Cat Cafe, it's important that people come inside the store to create that in-person connection with the cats she provides for adoption.
“You cannot interact with cats on the web," Steele said. "You can come in here and pet cats, and snuggle cats and get to know them and if you fall in love you get to see their personalities pretty good while you're visiting, and it’s a less stressful environment than it would be at the shelter."
The hope is that, after Cyber Monday, people will continue to support downtown businesses and create long-lasting connections to help increase business.
