Editorial: Keep it local this holiday season

The spirit of this holiday season? It’s now infused with relief with a capital “R,” thanks to eased pandemic restrictions that will open up these holidays to more in-person activities and socializing. And that will propel recovery, as more people venture out, spend money and create needed churn for Hawaii’s economy.

Today is the traditional, post-Thanksgiving “Black Friday” kickoff of the holiday shopping season — but it comes with several twists and turns.

Yes, people are itching to get out and about, and surely will — great news for brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as for eateries and bars.

“I think people want to be out. I think they really missed the store environment,” Katherine Cullen, the National Retail Federation’s senior director of consumer insights told The San Jose Mercury News. The federation predicted that in-store shopping, combined with online sales, could set a record $859 billion in sales this season.

But inflation could well dampen gift-buying, as prices rise on essentials such as groceries and gasoline, leaving less for discretionary spending. A November Gallup poll found that 64% of Americans plan to spend the same amount on gifts this year as in 2020 — and that won’t get as far with higher prices and consumer-good shortages.

Shoppers might be eager to snag bargains for more in-person gift-giving this year — but they shouldn’t count on the deep discounts of years past.

Nationwide, supply-chain woes are curbing normal availability of goods. Bottlenecks at key ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., have backlogged merchandise, so that even the traditional frenzy of Black Friday deals has been muted. Between online deals that began early in October, higher supply-chain costs and limited inventory in stock, retailers are offering fewer loss-leader bargains now than in pre-pandemic seasons.

Many shopkeepers and eateries, too, will need to overcome worker shortages and scramble to provide good experiences for customers. All these conditions will make for a holiday shopping season that’s unpredictable.

Still, the overriding blessing for Hawaii lies in our success in beating back COVID-19 to today’s level of public health and safety. Enduring 20 months of hunkering down and hardships has brought renewed appreciation of community. Especially in an island state, the connectedness of what we do, where we shop, where we eat, has been tangibly felt.

To that end, spending local is hugely impactful — and that runs the gamut of homegrown boutiques and vendors, to mainland chains that employ folks locally.

Each holiday shopping season, Black Friday is followed by Small Business Saturday, a worthy campaign encouraging shoppers to buy local and support small businesses in their communities. Then comes Cyber Monday, urging buyers onto online retail; followed by Giving Tuesday, which encourages donations and patronage to charities, nonprofits and entities with uplifting causes. Sandwiched in there, even, is a fledgling effort, Subscribe Sunday, which encourages local news subscriptions and underscores the importance of independent journalism.

After more than a year of being forced online for so much, it’s now time to robustly boost Hawaii’s small businesses and restaurants — in person, via curbside pick-up or takeout. For Giving Tuesday, donations can go a long way for good-works organizations such as the Hawaii FoodBank, Salvation Army, Goodwill and Helping Hands Hawaii.

Lastly, don’t forget the gift of time. Volunteer for a charitable cause, as a mentor to promote learning, or even as a foster adult, especially resonate after recent child-abuse tragedies. Such pay-it-forward gifts, in particular, are truly in the spirit of the season.