HOLLAND, Mich. — While Tulip Time draws thousands of visitors to downtown Holland each summer, local businesses rely heavily on the holiday shopping season during the winter months for economic support.
According to Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce President Jodi Owczarski, this year’s holiday season is exceeding expectations.
“It may have started slow, but it has taken off quickly, and already the numbers are surpassing last year’s great numbers,” she said.
Owczarski noted that strong off-season sales are essential for merchants’ year-round health.
Family-owned toy store, Out of the Box, with locations in Holland and Zeeland, sees about a quarter of its annual sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We rely heavily on it. And a bad Christmas season is pretty terrible for us,” owner Jeff Rietveld said, adding that both stores are on track for their best Christmas season ever.
Shoppers have been coming from outside the city, including Jeremy Gonsior of Jenison.
“There’s so many shops, always a good energy, and just a lot of options,” he said. “I just love buying local and feel like this is the best place to buy local in all of West Michigan.”
Gonsior said supporting local businesses offers experiences online shopping can’t match.
“I think there's just something cool about being able to talk to the local people, the local workers, and have those in-person experiences and to feel and touch products that you want to buy,” he said.
Owczarski said that for Holland’s shops, customers like Gonsior, and even frequent young shoppers such as Josephine and Timothy Guyser, are driving an exceptional season, helping small businesses thrive during winter.
"We get to look at a lot of Christmas stuff and this and that, and that and this," said Timothy.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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