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Cassie Rowe’s big break of the pandemic came late in 2020 when she noticed a local insurance agency trying to sell some of its office furniture.
Rowe wondered if the chairs and tables on offer were a sign the agency was moving out, and whether this could be an opportunity to move her gift store to a more visible location in the town of Abingdon in southwest Virginia.
Driving down the high street on a Saturday in November to deliver a gift basket, she saw a sign in the shop window. Part of the lease was up for grabs: the agency didn’t need as much space because its employees had shifted to working from home. Rowe swooped in, signed the lease and by early December had moved Abingdon Gifting Co.
The decision proved fortuitous. Sales for December represented one-third of the take for 2020, which in turn was the most lucrative year since starting the business in 2018, Rowe says.
From her new site, Rowe is in a better position to pick up tourist business, which is starting to rebound.
Her business selling gift baskets, even from her previous less spacious location at the corner of a strip mall a mile away, had proved resilient despite state restrictions on gatherings such as weddings or birthdays.
“We did well because of the pandemic,” she says. “People still want to connect even if they can’t reach out and hug somebody.”
Another pandemic trend Rowe found herself caught up in was a property market that was “on fire” as Americans left big cities in search of more space. It was not uncommon to receive “25 or 30 orders at a time” from an estate agent sending gifts to clients, a trend Rowe says she expects to continue this year.
Not everything about the pandemic has worked in Rowe’s favour, though. “My mother had [Covid-19] and is suffering from the long-term effects,” she says.
Rowe expects mask rules to be a source of consternation. As tourists from out of state return, she and neighbouring retailers are unsure if they are likely to lose or gain business by adhering to them.
She says some potential shoppers have exited almost immediately when they see people inside wearing masks. Other nearby retailers have told her of customers deciding to enter their stores because they peered through the window, saw staff incorrectly wearing face coverings or not at all, and interpreted this as a sign they would not demand shoppers mask up.
This is the eighth article in a series for the blog that explores the effects of the pandemic on people and businesses around the world