Snow slows shopping, worries retailers

With a handful of days left until Christmas, stores are usually bustling with activity, excitement and long lines. Friday's snow changed all that.

A Lake Zurich toy shop that usually does a quarter of its sales by 11 a.m. at this time of year saw two people during its first two hours Friday. White heavy snow put a damper on the kickoff to the weekend known to produce the highest sales of the season.

"The snow is killing Christmas," said Cynthia Chicca, owner of Treasures & Trash, an eclectic antique shop in downtown Libertyville.

Friday's storm gave cash-strapped shoppers another reason to stay away from the stores. "This is the final nail in the coffin," said Chicca, who didn't open her shop until the afternoon.

"I'm really frustrated by the weather," said Rick Derr, owner of Learning Express stores in Lake Zurich and Barrington. "This is not good for sales."

Retailers, already facing the worst season in two decades, are fearful of what a snowy weekend could mean to the bottom line.

"These are days we cannot get back," said Ray Laning, owner of Sports Fanatic stores in West Dundee and Palatine. "Whenever you have snow, you lose tons and tons of sales," he said.

Factor into the equation that 44.5 million people have not even started their holiday shopping and the outlook is worse. Every day is vital. The National Retail Federation said 65 percent of us still have holiday shopping to do. "With so much shopping left to do, the weekend before Christmas will be one of the most important periods of the year for retailers," said NRF President Tracy Mullin.

"The snow is a killer," Laning said. He expects Friday's sales to be a third of what they were last year.

"We always hope that there's no snow this time of year. It's kind of a gamble," said Nick Dominico, owner of Orchard Prime Meats in Cary. "A business like ours can really be hurt by snow."

John Guilfoil, owner of Earth Friendly Choices in downtown Arlington Heights, feels the same way. "Business has been a little soft. It has been a slow Christmas. This weather is going to kill us," he said.

Margot Henshaw admits when she expanded Prince's Table gift shop from California to Glen Ellyn earlier this year, she didn't factor in snow. "People see the snow start falling and they get to where they're going. It's tough," she said.

Another thing that hurt business Friday is that many schools were canceled, said Derr, while taking a break from shoveling the sidewalk at his Lake Zurich toy shop. "The fact that the kids are home hurts us. Now parents are less likely to shop," he added.

While driving to his store Friday morning, Derr said he listened to the radio as people complained about the roads. He was thinking about the effect the roads would have on retail.

"I was going to call in and tell them, 'Don't forget about the retailers.'" He knows some business owners are already on the brink of financial disaster. "This may push them over. We're very concerned," he said.

Chicca in Libertyville agreed. "I'm hoping this (snow) doesn't put more people out of business."