Emily Johnson poses in For the Love, LV, a boutique clothing store in the Arts District, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Emily Johnson is used to getting tourists in her downtown Las Vegas boutique, For the Love, LV.
The colorful store — which Johnson co-owns with her husband and offers a range of unique clothes, jewelry and other accessories — opened in the fast-growing Arts District just a few years ago. The majority of its customers have been tourists, Johnson said, with the exception of a handful of locals she dubbed “downtowners,” or people who regularly shop and eat in the historic Las Vegas district.
“That feels like a community thing that we received from here,” Johnson said, who pointed to the store’s vintage and inclusive bent as a draw for returning customers. “ … I think we fit right into the mold of the community down here — with what the Arts District is.”
She has also seen an increase in local traffic, Johnson said, because of the holidays and the “gifting season.”
“Today, I’ve had quite a few locals come down here, specifically for something to gift,” she said at her store earlier this week. “So our sales, especially locally, are up — which I do appreciate.”
A November forecast predicted that holiday spending in the United States would reach record levels this year, growing between 3% and 4% from 2022 for up to $966.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Another study released last month by Constant Contact, a marketing technology company, determined that 75% of small retailers relied heavily on holiday sales to meet their annual revenue goals.
While local Las Vegans have certainly frequented her store more than usual in recent weeks, however, Johnson said that holiday spending among customers is down compared with previous Christmases.
“And anyone I know that has a store would say the same,” Johnson said. “I think when your eggs cost more, you’re not shopping. And then I think what’s hard in Vegas with local shopping is that we have all the big-box stores … and so I do think it’s harder for locals to shop little boutiques.”
Just down the street from For the Love, customers at Fresa’s Skate Shop can purchase
roller-skating apparel and accessories, and even get lessons on how to skate.
The holiday season is typically busy for the vibey store, which boasts its own indoor half-pipe, said owner Amanda Quintanilla. And although November and December have seen strong numbers, it’s “not like last year,” Quintanilla said.
“I think people are not educated enough about local businesses or small businesses,” Quintanilla said. “I think they just don’t know the impact that they make on supporting their local business — being part of the community. We are their neighbors. We are your mom, your grandmother that has that business. I don’t think people understand that.”
The experience doesn’t seem to be universal, however.
For Tea & Whisk, a southwest Las Vegas Valley store that offers tea and tea-related products — as well as a private tea room — the holiday season continues to be a busy one, according to owner Leo Lukidi.
In fact, Lukidi said, people “are definitely shopping more” at the store, despite nationwide inflation and other economic issues. Tea & Whisk is only open four days a week, he said, but many anxious holiday shoppers have shown up even on the days it is closed.
Unfortunately, he said, if people don’t shop local it’s because they want to get the best financial value. But money isn’t what it’s all about, Lukidi said.
“If you support local business,” Lukidi said, “you’re also creating a nice environment for your city.”
Johnson echoed the sentiment, noting that when people support a small business they’re not only supporting its owner — in her case, a family of six — but also its employees, and the local artists and creators whose products they sell.
Many of the items at For the Love are created by locals, particularly women who make candles, jewelry, T-shirts and more, she said.
“I could tell you the stories of each family you also are supporting while shopping in here,” Johnson said.
Tea & Whisk has a high customer return rate for a local business, which Lukidi attributed to the community the store creates, the educational space it provides and more unique opportunities it has because of its identity as a small business.
He knows most of his customers by name, Lukidi noted.
“Local business is not just about selling a product — it’s about creating community,” he said. “I have a whole big community … They come here not just because we have good products. They come here because (of) the sense of being able to be part of the group of people with the same, similar interests. And it’s not something you can just replace using online shopping.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping has taken off. The National Retail Federation in November forecasted that it would increase between 7% and up to 9% in the 2023 holiday shopping season.
Online shopping has been a blessing to some small-business owners, including Jeremy St. Rebel, co-founder of JamminOn, a tie-dye store with a brick-and-mortar location west of the Las Vegas Strip.
Most of the business JamminOn sees these days is not in-store but online, St. Rebel said. The shop gained significant exposure as part of a 2023 holiday gift guide by GoDaddy, a company that provides online domains for businesses.
“It’s brought new clients and new customers through social media — which, these days, if you’re not on social media, you pretty much don’t exist in the world,” St. Rebel said. “No one has Yellow Pages anymore or uses them. You get your customers from social media. I post a lot; I’m a big social media presence. And that really fuels and drives my business and my online business.”
He’s seen many parents shopping at JamminOn ahead of the Christmas holiday, St. Rebel said, and particularly an uptick in the number of locals shopping at the store.
He’s grateful for any customers who choose to shop local this time of year, St. Rebel said, and he knows that they value the level of quality associated with JamminOn’s handmade tie-dye.
“I really appreciate the fact that our customers enjoy the products that we make,” he said. “Versus, say, made in Bangladesh — made in China. It’s made in Las Vegas in the USA.”
Though online shopping is undeniably on the rise, Johnson said she still prefers interacting with customers in person and getting to build those relationships with them to the anonymity of an internet boutique.
For the Love is nevertheless seeking to grow its presence online, she said, by running advertisements and increasing its social media engagement.
“Ultimately, what we would love to do is grow locally in the sense of having more locals know about us,” she said. “Because we really are — while we love clothes — we really are probably more here for the relationship aspect and the story of who we meet and what we learn from them and the interaction.”
