It goes without saying by now that COVID-19 has significantly changed the way retailers in Central New York and across the state are doing business. The impact varies, but there are efforts to buffer the impact of the long term closure.
Let’s start with those that have been deemed “essential” like grocery stores, drug stores, and home improvement retailers. President and CEO of the Retail Council of New York state Ted Potrikus it’s a whole new game.
"They have been trained to present and sell products to us. They weren't really in this to be public health police and public safety officers, but boy, we've gotten a crash course in how to do that. People who were excellent salespeople are now excellent social distance navigators."
But what about those who were forced to close, especially smaller, local retailers? Potrikus says the council asked the state if they’d be able to offer “take-out” services, like restaurants, in addition to online orders.
"They said yes, absolutely, provided you don't have all the employees in there, you're observing social distancing, and customers can't go in to the stores themselves. Hey, if you want to order a book, call us up, we'll meet you at the curb or we'll put it in the mail and send it to you."
But not all are set up to do that. To that end, he says the council has been building an on-line portal where businesses can add their information to a list under a diverse array of categories to let customers know they’re still operating.
"The unique gift shiop, the record store, the coffee shop, the candy shop, the clothing store...they have built-in customer bases. They've got a lot of loyalty there, and you have people who really want to stay loyal to their favorite local stores and help them stay open."
Potrikus says it’s open to all “main street”-type retailers, not just members of the council. So far, a handful of Syracuse-area stores are on the list. The website isretailnewyork.com.
