At Tallulah Jones in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood, the holiday rush started early.
“Getting ready for Christmas is a lot of behind-the-scenes work. We call ourselves elves,” said assistant store manager Lauren Lingaas.
This year marks the local toy-and-gift shop’s 24th Christmas in business, and like many small retailers, they’re counting on the final stretch of the year to bring them into the black.
“This is when I make my profit margin. I’m not running a profit until November or December,” said Tallulah Jones proprietress Robin Lohre. She estimates nearly 40 percent of her annual sales will come between now and Christmas.
A new national survey from small business marketing company Constant Contact shows she’s not alone. “Sixty percent of small business owners earn up to half of their revenue during the last three months of the year,” said Dave Charest, the company’s Director of Small Business Success.
In a time of economic uncertainty, coupled with lingering impacts from the federal government shutdown, local stores are already feeling the pinch.
Lingaas said tariffs are pushing prices up across many categories at Tallulah Jones. “I would say it’s anywhere from 15 to 30 percent increases, depending on where different things are coming from. Most of our toys have seen anywhere from $2 up to $10 increases.”
Lohre has tried to blunt the impact. “When the tariffs were announced, I got a big order from all of my vendors trying to get what was in the warehouse pre-tariff, but I am starting to run out of those.” The environment, she says, feels volatile. “It really does feel like the Wild West. I’ve always felt like I am in control of my business, and I don’t feel in control of it this year.”
Despite the pressure, Charest said there is an overall theme of resilience. “Seventy-seven percent of the owners we surveyed are confident that they are going to meet their revenue targets for this year,” he said.
Lohre said she likely won’t know whether she can breathe a sigh of relief until the week leading up to Christmas. Some owners in similar boats are responding to the squeeze on two fronts: trimming costs and being strategic about pricing. “Forty-six percent are cutting expenses, and 43 percent are raising prices,” Charest said. Cutting expenses can mean anything from reducing staff to axing marketing campaigns.
On the consumer side, the survey showed shoppers will be more budget-conscious this year. “Seventy percent of customers are going to be looking for deals and discounts, 46 percent are shopping earlier this year, and about 45 percent are actually planning to buy fewer items,” said Charest.
Tallulah Jones will lean on old-fashioned relationships and low-budget outreach. “Our marketing department is me and the other manager, and we don’t have a specified marketing budget,” Lingaas said. “So it’s a lot of word of mouth, a lot of social media, a lot of pairing with other small businesses around us and doing popups.”
They also hope their values will differentiate them from big-box stores and e-commerce giants. “I think shopping small is kind of like supporting CPR. It’s investing in your community and your values,” Lohre said. “This store, for example, is a certified green business. We pay extra for recycling, we recycle our styrofoam. We are very value-centered. When you order on Amazon, it’s easy, but where that money goes is maybe not towards your values.”
Lohre said she hopes people will commit to shopping at small businesses this year, especially, and is grateful for the acknowledgement that comes from Small Business Saturday. “It really directs people’s attention to the plight of small business,” she said.
For her, that community support is personal. “It’s people that I see year after year, who remember my daughter when she was little, running around in her squeaky shoes, and they still ask about her. The store means something to people.” And they mean something to her, too. “I love being part of people’s stories and magic, the traditions and the Advent calendars, the ornaments that they collect.”
Charest says the data shows those long-term customer relationships are often formed during the holiday season. “Seventy-two percent of the shoppers that we spoke to will actually return to the same small businesses in the following year. And of those that are new, 88 percent will want to come back. So, there’s a real opportunity to think beyond just the holiday season,” he said.
Until then, the “elves” at Tallulah Jones and other small businesses are doing what they always do — decking the windows, restocking the shelves and getting ready to help people find something that sparks joy.
You can support small businesses by attending one of the local holiday markets in your city. Find a list of options for Denver here.
