A crisp, sunny Black Friday had downtown Hot Springs brimming with shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving, with many shop owners noting record sales for November.
Anne Marcus, owner of the Toy Chest, said typically the day after Thanksgiving is always a wonderful day.
"Not only for the Toy Chest, but for all of downtown Hot Springs," she said. "Well, this year has been a very strong year in terms of retail sales for us -- and I think for the entire historic district downtown."
Bathhouse Soapery & Caldarium Manager Pam Clark said customers were outside waiting to come in when opening the doors Friday morning. She noted the store advertised heavily on social media this year to let people know about their Black Friday sales.
"We'll hit a record sales number today," she said. "You know, national park, during the pandemic, has not been a bad place to have a shop. It's just been a fantastic year."
Clark said their Black Fridays are always big in terms of customer traffic and overall business, but that this entire year has been "incredible" for them.
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"Exhausting, but exciting," she said. "Nonstop, and I think that's (true) for a lot of people downtown. The hotels and restaurants, the other shop owners. ... We're fortunate we've kept the same team in place, so we've not had to do any hiring, which is a big battle out there. So we are enjoying it and have had a great year."
Bathhouse Soapery & Caldarium, which handmakes their products, has also seen a significant rise in online sales over the past year.
"We handmake everything. We can't call a buyer and order more -- we're handcrafting it," she said. "I was at our warehouse, our makehouse, this morning and they were like little elves, pulling their online stuff for Black Friday and making product. And then our cybershop, which is our online business, does a big piece as well from now till Cyber Monday. (Online sales) have picked up, and bigger this week, this past week, than last year -- a stronger year as well. Of course, COVID shifted a lot of people to that direction of buying for a full year, and it's kind of kept the momentum up. And we do a big annual event there, a little bit bigger than even in the stores."
As one might expect, the holiday products are the biggest sellers during this time of year, she said, with the Cardamom & White Chocolate and Sleigh Queen lines topping the list.
"All the ones that are great when the weather's colder," she said. "And we're so fortunate this morning the weather's colder, and so it's got everybody kind of in the mood. We've got our décor up, the music's on -- everybody's kind of in the mood for the holidays."
Justin Simon, owner of Evilo Oils & Vinegars, said they were seeing a busy post-Thanksgiving Day as well, noting that Black Fridays are always big for them each year.
"It kind of shocked me the first few years that we really did a Black Friday that the small merchants would have a place on Black Friday amongst like Walmart and the big boxes," he said. "But people still want to come downtown for the deals."
As far as whether it's been as busy as last year, he said, "It has. The temperature always helps out, so when you have a walkable-degree day, you definitely see the people come from it."
Simon said online sales have picked up for them, as well, during the pandemic, noting their Spiceology series -- which feature spice kits laid out like the periodic table of elements with accompanying book and various recipes -- as their No. 1 seller. Recent logistics issues, however, have not made it easy to keep up with the demand.
"We're a business that's plagued like some of the others with logistic problems right now," he said. "Because all of the oils come from overseas for the most part, so you'll see our barges on TV every once in a while trying to get into harbor, but we're making it OK."
Even while business is better than ever, Lauray's -- The Diamond Center Owner Toddy Pitard, who also owns Spa City Market next door, said logistics have been an equal concern of his during this current economic market.
"This morning and this month is probably the best ever since we've been in business," he said.
"I think Black Friday is always huge but people are thinking that things are going -- they're not going to be able to get things before Christmas. So they're buying and grabbing, and this month has been phenomenal," Pitard said.
"But like I said, the best November we've ever had and by a long shot. You know, I think that with the supply chain problems and different things that's going on, people are kind of panicking, and I don't think they're ordering online as much because they don't feel confident that they can get it. And I think people want to get out, so they are getting out. So it has been, as a matter of fact, we've just sent another ad out to hire more people, you know, to get us through the Christmas season. But no, it's been great, very fortunate."
He also noted, in terms of retail sales, this year is "beating all expectations and all numbers from the past."
"You know, when it's like this, I don't try to figure it out," he said. "We just keep moving forward and then making sure we're giving the ultimate customer service. But I kind of got out in front of the headlights a little more because I knew that we were having supply chain problems. So I bought earlier this year and I bought more, because I didn't want to rely on my wholesalers to get me stuff. So I probably have 30, 40% more than I've ever had in stock. But, I don't want to run out, you know, and I'm glad I did that because I'm seeing that things are very, very busy."
