Local Retailers Adapt to “New Normal”

You're reading Big Buzz  breaking news  ​
in the ​Shoofly Magazine

The retail landscape has certainly changed over the last few months. Shops in Bay St. Louis know that their customers depend upon them – and they are answering the need.
 
- Story by Lisa Monti
 

Martha Whitney Butler, owner of The French Potager on Main Street in Old Town Bay St. Louis

​To no one’s surprise, retail sales have suffered from the pandemic, resulting in the largest monthly drop ever recorded. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, overall sales in March were down almost 9 percent from February, worse than the 4.3 percent decline in November 2008 during the Great Recession.
 
With consumers staying in or close to home and businesses shut down, owners have had to adjust in a hurry to a new way of operating. Many stores have gone all in with online sales and crafted safe ways of delivering purchases to their housebound customers. 
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Websites are populated with new photos of merchandise and special offers as business owners find their way in the new coronavirus landscape. ​
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Martha Whitney Butler, owner of The French Potager, closed her floral shop on Main Street in Bay St. Louis for a few weeks while she continued to fill flower subscriptions and make a plan to move forward. Keeping up with new rules and restrictions has been challenging, she said. 
 
“During the last month I’ve been thinking about how to operate in this new era and change the way I do business. It’s been an adjustment,” she said.
 
Until recently, she relied on daily deliveries to her shop to fill orders. “Every day I used to get fresh flowers delivered to my business. Right now I have to preorder everything. It takes at least 30 days,” Butler said.
 
She found a new supplier for flowers and is reopening “very slowly,” she said. Just in time for Mother’s Day, a major holiday in the florists’ world, Butler is introducing a personalized, online flower arranging class. “The idea is to have people sign up for a class on Zoom. We will deliver a bouquet of loose flowers to them and their mom and then I’ll teach them how to arrange them.”
 
French Potager
213 Main St.
Bay Saint Louis
(228) 364-3091
www.TheFrenchPotager.com

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Below, you'll find a few of the retailers and artists who are shifting their resources online. For a more complete directory, go to our Business Not As Usual page!

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Bay-Tique
125 Main St.
Bay Saint Louis
(228) 344-3043
www.bay-tique.com

The women’s clothing and gift shop also has comfortable athletic wear for every day and shoes.

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Gallery 220
220 Main St.
Bay Saint Louis

This vibrant artists' co-op is one of the oldest in the state!  They are  compiling a list of artists in the co-op who have websites and are doing online sales.  Meanwhile, check out their Facebook page.   

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painting by Michelle Allee

Watercolor by Herb Willey

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Shops of Century Hall
112 S. Second St.
Bay Saint Louis
(504) 858-8574

 JoAnn Saucier is the manager of The Shops of Century Hall and also owns The Porch, one of 15 retailers inside the multi-level marketplace. She said owners have been posting daily on social media, and a website is in the works. Shoppers can get pricing information and order by phone or social media for pickup or delivery in the Bay St. Louis area.

Susan Peterson of the Shoppes at Century Hall.

From Leanna Garcia's gallery at Century Hall.

Jewelry courtesy Sassy Bird Interiors, Century Hall.

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Pass Christian Books / Cat Island Coffeehouse
300 E. Scenic Dr.
Pass Christian
(228) 222-4827
http://www.passbooksonline.com

Order books online or pick up from store. Coffee shop offering curbside service 

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Check out the Shoofly Magazine's Business Not As Usual page!  For the time being, we've shifted our energies and times to promoting local businesses and you can help by sharing our stories.  You'll find a Facebook Share button at the top of every page!  

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