Despite an increase in online shopping, retail sector offers plenty of jobs for workers, deals for shoppers.
Retail sales and employment haven’t gone to the dogs in Erie County.
In fact, you could say that the dogs are going to retail, at least when it comes to pet supply stores.
Getting your dog cleaned in a store is one of the many ways brick-and-mortar retailers are counteracting the effect of Amazon and other online shopping outlets.
“It’s hard to get your dog washed online,” said Mike Zavasky, 65, of Millcreek Township, the owner of two Pet Supply Plus franchises — one at the renovated West Erie Plaza in Millcreek Township and the other at the Giant Eagle plaza, at 4121 Buffalo Road, Harborcreek Township.
Erie County is bucking a nationwide and state trend when it comes to the vitality of the retail market. And the employment statistics bear that out.
In a time when big-box retailers such as Sears, Kmart, Macy’s and Toys R Us are closing stores and more than 100,000 retail jobs have been lost across the country — including 4,700 in Pennsylvania — Erie County added 500 retail jobs in 2017, raising the total to 15,600.
The county’s total employment numbers include about 2,000 jobs at the Millcreek Mall complex, a number that balloons to about 2,600 employees for the holiday shopping season, said Joe Bell, spokesman for the Niles, Ohio-based Cafaro Co., the parent firm that owns the mall complex.
It seems that in the Erie region’s upper Peach Street shopping district and other places, retail bounces back even when it takes a hit.
For instance, when the Sears store at the Millcreek Mall closed, big-box retailer Boscov’s not only renovated the space, but added 26,000 square feet to what is now a 180,000-square-foot shopping experience offering everything from clothes to an old-fashioned candy counter. A Sears Hometown Store opened at 7200 Peach St. to help fill a void left by Sears.
And Macy’s and Toys R Us, both at the mall complex, weren’t among the stores that the giant retailers announced for closings. (However, Babies R Us, at 6680 Peach St., is one of the 182 stores closing nationwide as part of Toys R Us’ bankruptcy reorganization plans, and Bon-Ton announced Jan. 31 it would close its Millcreek Mall location.)
Limits of online shopping
Bell said that while online shopping is popular and will continue to grow, its impact on brick-and-mortar stores “kind of gets overblown.”
In 2016, the latest year for which he said statistics were available, Bell said 8.5 percent of retail sales were transacted online. Bell said he’s sure there was some growth in 2017, but there’s no reason to believe the numbers were significantly greater.
But he added, “The best retailers at our mall complex embrace online shopping as just one more way to serve the customer.”
Bell said the mall complex continues to succeed, in part, because it’s adapted to shoppers’ changing habits. It’s become more of a one-stop area to buy clothes and other merchandise, eat a meal, get your hair cut or styled, and enjoy entertainment, among other options.
Highlighting that point, Round 1 Entertainment is scheduled to open late this summer, with the entrance at the mall’s Promenade. The Round 1 Entertainment concept includes a mix of bowling alleys, billiards, arcade games, ping-pong, a restaurant/lounge area and private party rooms.
Bell said Anthony Cafaro Jr., co-president of the mall complex’ parent firm, has made this comment about online limitations: “You can’t meet your best friend for lunch on your smartphone.”
Erie is also bucking the nationwide trend thanks to its location, drawing shoppers from northwestern Pennsylvania, northeastern Ohio, western New York and Ontario, according to both Bell and John Oliver, president and CEO of VisitErie, the Erie region’s tourism promotion agency.
Pennsylvania’s tax-free clothing sales are a draw for shoppers from Ohio, New York and Ontario, Oliver said. The tax break is part of VisitErie’s advertising pitch in the Cleveland, Buffalo and southern Ontario markets.
And shoppers in Warren, Bradford, Meadville and other Pennsylvania towns visit Erie for its many retail options, he said.
A helpful hand
But it takes a personal touch for retailers to succeed.
“We know online is trending, but I think the customer likes to come into a brick-and-mortar store. We have co-workers who are happy to wait on them and happy to take them to the product, and explain the different benefits of it,” said Tony Georgetti, 48, store manager at Boscov’s, which opened Oct. 5 at the Millcreek Mall and employs about 165 people, not counting holiday seasonal help.
“We’re happy to be here and we’re happy with the overall response," Georgetti said. "We see a lot of traffic at the mall, and it was very strong at the mall over the holidays."
Oliver said that Boscov’s helps draw more shoppers here who might have been unfamiliar with the Reading-based, family-owned chain with 45 stores.
At Pet Supplies Plus, the personal touch also helps to connect with customers and their pets.
“The pet industry is a little unique compared to anything else,” said Dino Sorbara, 45, of Erie, store manager at the West Erie Plaza location.
“We get to know them and their pets. So they’re happy to see us, with a smile on our face,” Sorbara said. “You get that personal interaction you will not get from a computer.”
Zavasky said customers can talk to knowledgeable salespeople who understand the products and the differences between them, talk about their pet’s experiences and needs, find items in the store for them and carry merchandise to their cars. “They greatly appreciate the interaction they get when they come into our stores,” said Zavasky, retired executive vice president of insurance operations for Erie Insurance. He retired in December 2012 after working 36 years for the company.
“I failed retirement. I wanted something that was engaging and fun to do,” he said.
Part of that engagement and fun occurs when birds, cats, snakes, lizards and dogs come into the store with their owners. “Anything on a leash or in a cage,” he said.
Zavasky said his stores, which employ a total of about 36 people, also help five rescue shelters in the community with fundraising, supplying food at discounted prices, sponsoring events for them and hosting adoptions at their stores.
“We’re here in the community to be part of the community,” he said.
That’s a treat in the dog-eat-dog world of comparing brick-and-mortar to online retailing.
John Guerriero can be reached at johnguerrierowrites@gmail.com or on Twitter at twitter.com/JGuerriero814.
