Center City Scenes: Collaboration, technology key strategies for holiday sales

Center city retailers are gearing up for the holiday season. New streetscapes and parking options beckon shoppers to rediscover more than 40 shops downtown and on Commercial Street. However, those entrepreneurs know competition will be keen this year given the economic climate. Three of the main strategies they plan to employ to help them stand out in a crowded marketplace are collaboration, technology and emphasizing a unique sense of place.

Collaboration

Merchants have banded together for decades through the Downtown Springfield Association and Commercial Club. But both districts are collaborating at an unprecedented rate.

DSA published a new holiday shopping guide with 48 pages of glossy color photos to showcase its member businesses. Hudson Bryce prepared a similar coffee table piece earlier this year for Commercial Street, and it was the most significant collaborative marketing piece for the district in many years. As a result of these successful partnerships, businesses have expanded to other forms of print advertising.

Ampersand, Springfield Hot Glass, Global Fayre and Shae Belle are maximizing their geographic proximity along Campbell Avenue and reinforcing the block as a shopping destination through extended hours, live glass-blowing demonstrations and special discounts.

On Commercial Street, Fusion Stained Glass Studio partnered with Drury University's Students in Free Enterprise to offer an ornament-making class to the Drury community. The class was so successful that owner Erin Frerking is offering the same special rate to the general public. Shawn Askinosie of Askinosie Chocolate partnered with the Midtown Neighborhood Association during its Victorian Homes Tour and with Moxie Cinema for "An Epicurean Delight" featuring the movie "Chocolat" on Dec. 6.

The Downtown Dollars gift certificate program and Night on the Town packages (both available at www.itsalldowntown.com) offer customers "gifts with no fits" and flexibility for the friend or family member who has everything, with 50 shops and restaurants participating.

Technology

Businesses also plan to take advantage of technology to make the holidays merrier. Gretchen Dexter of Ampersand utilizes an extensive e-mail distribution list to notify customers of upcoming specials and has developed multiple Web sites to drive online traffic.

Sarah Cabanas, co-owner of Vintage Vice, notes approximately 800 friends on her MySpace page. It's a key tool to post bulletins to her high school and collegiate customers.

Through the use of technology, chocolatier Askinosie is expanding to international markets in Scandinavia, Australia and Singapore - areas where the economic crisis hasn't hit as hard. "The United States needs to become an export nation," Askinosie said. "We have small businesses making high-quality products, and the technology is making it much easier to ship goods internationally."

Sense of place

One of the draws of center city is its blend of architecture, eclectic clientele and culture. Customers can supplement their shopping experiences with a cup of cappuccino or hot chocolate. They can meet a friend for breakfast or lunch to plot over their next purchase. They can stroll down sidewalks, peer in festive storefront windows and offer hints at what they would like Santa to leave in their stocking.

Parents can bring their kids to the Dec. 13 Christmas parade or to the latest animated movie at Hollywood Theaters, in exchange for just a few minutes of peaceful shopping at their favorite store.

Couples can escape the hustle and bustle of the season with an evening of leisurely shopping, a nice dinner, a live theater production and a horse-drawn carriage ride bundled up under a blanket.

Collaborating has never been more fun.

Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.