The State of Twin Cities Retail

We checked in with local retailers to see how Twin Citians are shopping in 2022.

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Remember early 2020, when we saw a serious bump in micro trends—gifting, candles, puzzles, earrings for Zooms—as the pandemic brought new challenges? Well, what about now? How and what are we buying? The local consensus, it seems,  is after a rocky 24 months of closures, pivots, and shop-from-a-distance models for our brick-and-mortars, consumers are back shopping in real life, and in a big way.

Take Patina co-owner Christine Ward, for instance, who believes there can be a degree of disconnection when it comes to online shopping. “The need to touch, feel, smell, and experience still remains,” says Ward, who now has eight locations spanning the greater Twin Cities. “We still crave connection to our community that the in-store experience can offer.”

According to local retailers, 2021 was big. We’re talking the-best-sales-year-in-a-decade big. “It really feels like the Roaring Twenties,” says Molly Blanski, who owns Statement Boutique in the North Loop. Blanski and her neighbor and fellow store owner Dana Swindler of MartinPatrick3 saw consumer dollars shift from travel and entertainment to investments for the home and wardrobe. Even Patina’s Ward attests to this: “The home décor and wellness boom isn’t slowing down. If anything, the pandemic has increased the focus on our homes and mental health and creating our own sanctuaries. In a very unpredictable world, we can control our space at home, making it comfortable, peaceful, and safe,” she says.

On the fashion front, for women’s boutique Parc, owner Thao Nguyen notices customers back to buying dresses and more special pieces as opposed to sweats and loungewear—“things people really want to show off,” says Nguyen.

Perhaps we feel the responsibility to show up for our favorite shops during dire times. Erin Parrish Duininck, owner and curator of Excelsior art gallery and gift shop Golden Rule, hopes that people, who likely had more time to explore around the corner when far-flung travel and adventures weren’t an option, aren’t just indulging in some sort of retail therapy boom. “I want to always be adding actual value and beauty to the lives around me with what we offer,” says Parrish Duininck. “I guess the optimist in me hopes that people realized what they value and what they want to stick around for the long haul and acted accordingly.”

Along with impacting how we shop, the last two years have also informed when we shop—many shopkeepers report increased foot traffic during the day, as our flexible work-from-home schedules allow for retail therapy breaks. “Our customers are stopping during the morning and afternoon (lunch break or whenever they need a step away from the screen), so we’ve cut our after hours to accommodate our recent change in traffic,” says Parc’s Nguyen.

Of course, all the disruptions in the supply chain required retailers to be more flexible and creative with the products they carry and the stories that they tell. For Edina boutique Serge and Jane, it meant stocking up on shopping bags at the first sign of a paper shortage last year and bringing in holiday goods earlier than usual. And unfortunately, the panic has led to an overstock of inventory for some, including Parrish Duininck of Golden Rule. “I overbought and bought way in advance of the holidays assuming many shipments would be lost/stuck/cancelled, and none of them were. So, I have an abundance of inventory now.”

But as retailers continue rewriting the rules, their customers are meeting them where they are. Many report their clients to be more understanding and patient in regard to shipping, limited store hours, and closures due to aspects like short staffing. “In general, everyone’s been just so amazing and so understanding about what small businesses are going through right now—a lot of it is out of our hands,” says Nguyen. A testament to Twin Citians’ dedication to #shoppinglocal, indeed.