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Instead of lineups out the doors of popular stores, there will be curbside pickups and home deliveries.
“We really don’t know what to expect but we think there’s going to be a big surge in online business,” said Tepperman. “E-comm is going to be the only way we can conduct business. Everything is focused right now on maximizing the virtual experience.
In another first, said Tepperman, his local business might have an advantage over the big national chains. The company has warehouses in Southern Ontario and they are shuttling stock between stores.
“If you buy something online on Boxing Day in our Windsor store, there’s a very good chance you can drive around to pick it up immediately, where a lot of retailers will have to bring in products from Toronto, a lot of those national chains,” said Tepperman. “We’ve been sending those Boxing Week items like TVs, electronics, those door crashers, we’ve been loading up the store warehouses with these items just to make it really easy if a customer is buying something.”
But while the online marketplace might be a saviour for stores selling electronics and other big ticket items, it’s not ideal for certain kinds of businesses. You can’t try on a pair of pants over the Internet.
“We are going to postpone our Boxing Day,” said Freeds co-owner Ari Freed. “Boxing Day in the clothing world is always best suited for people being in our store. People can’t come into our store so we’re going to postpone it and come back with a bigger and better one when we’re allowed to do so.”
While they won’t be offering big sales until people can return to the store, Freeds will be open on Boxing Day for online sales and curbside pickup for those who want it.
“Our online will continue,” said Freed. “Curbside will continue by appointment. But as far as Boxing Day goes, we’ve got a multimillion dollar inventory with thousands of items. We’d never be able to get them all up online. We’re best waiting. We’ve had great customers over the years. I’m sure our customers will wait until we announce when we have our Boxing Day.”
twilhelm@postmedia.com
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