One fact is true about the infamous Polar Vortex: it’s cold, very cold. But businesses around New York City haven’t been feeling the chill quite as bad as anticipated.
City business improvement districts (BIDs) officials said that merchants haven’t been burdened by the severe weather conditions. In fact, some businesses seen slight increases in sales since the on-going three weeks of record low temperatures.
“Night time business has actually been better because people want to be closer to train to be closer to being home. I’ve seen a little uptick in evening sales”, said John McFadden, the general manager at Pershing Square Café by Grand Central Station.
McFadden’s ‘little uptick’ is close to 100 more customers than usual this time of year. He said a majority of his breakfast and dinner diners are commuters.
“People will take the cold for a day or two but when it repeats like this, people get discouraged and don’t want to stay away from home for long,” McFadden said about his customers.
Most merchants and BID directors contest that January is never a time for exceptional sales, regardless of weather. Following the holiday season, many stores expect business to be slow. The general counsel of the Grand Central Partnership BID said he has spent a good amount of time with his vendors since the below freezing weather begun and has been impressed by the turn out.
“Lousy weather isn’t the worst things for business owners to face because people are going from store to store to stay warm,” said Marc Wurzel of the Grand Central BID. “I’ve noticed a lot of retail activity.”
While it’s hard to say if the increase in foot traffic has significantly increased store sales, some storeowners say it has contributed to the bottom-line in small ways . Dozens of pedestrians were seen going in and out of Macy’s on Herald Square, but many of them left without shopping bags. One customer, Dr. Juan Tapia, was at the entrance of the store looking at winter gloves.
“It’s freezing out. I have a dinner upstairs and thought I’d waste some time here. You need to cover your hands and ears really well in this weather,” Dr. Tapia said as he compared two pairs of gloves.
A representative for Paragon in Union Square confirmed that sales at the sports store usually go up when the temperature drops. The rep, Olivia Cheng, said half the sports clothing in the store is made for people to stay warm outside for long periods of times. The best sellers, according to Cheng: mountain boots and insulated sportswear.
Businesses still face similar issues they would year-round. A general manager at Soilitare Creations, Brian Marlo, claimed that at one of his colleague’s stores, a pipe burst and destroyed the showcase that displays all the jewelry to passers-by. The colleague is sharing space in Marlo’s store now. Marlo said the situation isn’t intrusive because they take most of their orders on the phone or online, and as a result, busines is the same as usual.
It comes as no surprise that the merchants having the most issues are outdoor vendorsWurzel of the Grand Central BID explained that shoe shiners by the entrance of Grand Central had to move because of the cold and lost some business. Most customers, he explained, don’t want to sit by a drafty door when the temperature are in the teens.
Even if sales haven’t suffered too much, most small businessmen agree on one thing: Spring will be a relief.
