SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Local business owners in Sioux Falls are putting a call out to customers saying they need some help keeping the doors open.
It seems like these days there’s a little less movement in Downtown Sioux Falls and it’s impacting business owners.
“You know, we count on January, February and even most of March to be our slow season, but it’s expanded past March even,” Emma Schulz, owner of Heritage Boutique, said. “June is probably the lowest, that’s the lowest month I’ve actually seen almost this entire year so far. And for it being a summer month, it’s unheard of.”
But it’s not just downtown. 605 Running Company is seeing the same struggles at their Bridges location on Western Avenue.
“Discretionary spending is down and we’re not seeing folks shop with us nearly enough as we need to be successful,” Greg Koch, owner of 605 Running Company, said.
Koch and Schulz are both understanding that right now many people are feeling tight with their financials but they want to try and break some myths that surround shopping local.
“A lot of the times, people are misinformed about what a boutique holds, necessarily,” Schulz said. “Like, personally, I have lowered my margins on literally everything in my store and that’s just to hopefully make the prices more approachable.”
“Our price is the same that you see for those Hokas that you would see on Hoka online, same with Brooks or any one of our other brands,” Koch said. “We have the same price and we match prices, we match discounts. Anything advertised, you bring it in and we can sell it to you for that price.”
So when you do decide to take a shopping trip, these owners just hope you choose local.
“The dollars within our economy, so how we build roads, how we fund schools, all those things, they are going to stay in the local community so much more when you shop locally. We provide great jobs for the people that work for us,” Koch said.
“You know, no matter how small your purchase, like even its a little sports tank top, you know, or just anything, honestly, it means a lot to us,” Schulz said. “There’s like a small business owner behind that purchase like secretly rejoicing.”
Koch wrote a blog post last week that goes more in-depth on the struggles businesses have been feeling this year. You can read that by clicking here.
