Families invested in home repair and puzzles and games this Christmas. (ID 192198565 © Olga Zhukovskaya | Dreamstime.com)

By Josh Ryan

Shifting shopping trends

Home renovations, puzzles dominated Christmas shopping in the Battlefords

Dec 31, 2020 | 2:54 PM

Business in the Battlefords has changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and that continued during the Christmas season.

Many homeowners spent money on supplies for repairs and renovations to their homes this summer and the trend has kept up into Christmas. Cam Gartner, general manager for the Home Hardware Building Centre in North Battleford, said the lumber side of the business is typically very quiet at this time of the year, but it’s been the opposite in 2020.

“We’ve definitely seen a lot more foot traffic on the lumber side of the business this year,” he said. “People aren’t going anywhere, they’re staying home and continuing to do projects on their houses while they have time off during the holiday season. A lot of people are just picking up odds and ends in the store for minor repairs in their house.”

Because of increased time at their own residence, Gartner said many customers had more opportunities to notice things to fix. Many are also using the money they would have saved for travel to put into various projects.

“People purchased materials to renovate their bathroom over the next few weeks,” Gartner said. “We’ve had people phone the store to price out patio stones, because they’re planning a yard renovation in the spring.

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In a unique year, where sales for stores like Home Hardware have been stronger, Gartner said he expects the trend to continue into 2021. However, he also encouraged residents to support those negatively affected during restrictions and shutdowns.

“I hope people really go out of their way to shop local [and] support these other businesses,” he said.

Online stores like Amazon have profited during tough times for many retailers, with residents discouraged from venturing to stores, but an increase in demand for some items during Christmas has still been a plus. Tanaya Wakelin, manager for Learning Adventures Toys and Games in North Battleford, said they have a number of things that families can enjoy at home, similarly to other markets.

“Puzzles, yoyo’s, they were big sellers,” she said. “A game called disc dash sold like crazy. Everyone’s stuck at home trying to find something for their kids to do.”

Wakelin said the demographics of who is shopping for products like puzzles, and who they are shopping for, changed this year, as a result of families staying at home.

“It’s for all ages now,” she said. “Usually it was just kids before, but now we have adults coming in looking for puzzles and games too.”

Wakelin said the store managed to salvage some business by having a second location at the Frontier Mall, using both mall locations in the city. However, they’re closing it down now, as the season is ending.

“I think we’re going to come back next year, because we had a pretty good experience,” she said. “But probably just for December.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports