Springfield Business Journal_2020-11-16

order in April generated nearly $144,000, or 9%, of roughly $1.7 million in combined store sales for Mama Jean’s. Store officials say curbside service has added another $292,000 in sales May-October. Expanding e-commerce is part of the company’s strategic plan for 2021, which store offi- cials say could result in a mobile app.  Farbin and other grocers say the pandemic has changed on- line grocery shopping habits for the long term. The view of continued e- commerce activity beyond COVID-19 is reflected in April results from Springfield Busi- ness Journal’s 2020 Economic Growth Survey. Over 30% of business respondents expect to be doing more online sales once the pandemic threat has subsided, while nearly 60% believe it will remain the same. Only around 6% ex- pect a post-pandemic decrease.  Bruce Velich, regional sales manager for Springfield fitness equipment manufacturer Stamina Products Inc., says the company’s year-over-year percentage growth of e-com- merce sales is “well into the double digits.” He declined to disclose sales figures, but noted the home fitness demand has recorded a sig- nificant spike during the pandemic, as people change their exercise routines.  “We weren’t sure but we felt like this had real potential to drive people back into home fitness,” he says. “The demand is still there and we expect a strong holiday sea- son. We plan for this to continue.”  Stamina Products’ equipment line in- cludes exercise bikes, rowers and elliptical machines. Seasonal sales in the home gym equipment market is frequently strong, as consumers look to exercise indoors dur- ing winter and as part of New Year’s resolutions, Velich says. The growth of e-commerce sales in the industry could last for an- other two or three years, he says, depending on the post-pandem- ic economy.  But Velich says supply chain issues persist among the com- pany’s distribution base, which includes Walmart, Target and Amazon.  “There are limitations at the s o u r c e and limitations with logistics coming across the sea and at the port,” he says. “Our lead times have gone from about 90 days to double that – and even longer in some places.” Stamina Products is one of roughly 200 clients for ad- vertising agency Campaignium LLC, which works in the e-commerce space. Co-owner Jef- frey Paulette says the agency often updates or creates client websites and runs shopping campaigns on Google and Face- book. He estimated nearly 50% of new cli- ents since March request e-commerce help.  “We can track exactly what they’re doing on the sites,” Paulette says of the shopping campaigns. “If they make a purchase, we’re tracking that purchase. We’re looking at the cost per acquisition to make sure it is actually a successful campaign and we’re actually creating revenue for our clients.” Paulette says businesses are starting to better understand that online sales are here to stay. The pandemic only spotlighted that point, he says. “As more people start to work from home, there’s just going to be much more emphasis on e-commerce and digital mar- keting,” he says. Blue Raven Emporium’s O’Dell says if she remained a brick-and-mortar store throughout the pandemic, it’s highly un- likely she’d still be operating. “I don’t know how a lot of these small boutiques stay in business,” she says. “Re- tail space is expensive. To pay for retail space when you don’t have the revenue coming in, I can’t imagine it.” BY BUSINESS SIZE BY RESPONDENT AGE BY GENDER Small (1-5) 77.9% Medium (6-50) 71.4% Large (51+) 77.2% 18-34 Years 52.6% 35-54 Years 73.4% 55+ Years 80.3% Male 78.6% Female 69.6% Confidence in online sales increasing post-pandemic at the expense of brick-and-mortar retail is high: Susie Farbin : COVID-19 is permanently changing online grocery shopping habits. Source: SBJ 2020 Economic Growth Survey SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 9 NOV. 16-22, 2020 SILVER LININGS