An SC vacation deal on Black Friday? Myrtle Beach tourism fighting COVID-19 in new way
Black Friday offers an annual chance to fight through throngs of crowds with silent prayers that one might be able to nab the latest video game console for a loved one.
But Myrtle Beach is hoping, and betting with its advertising dollars, that it can convince some holiday shoppers to turn their spending toward booking future vacations, “giving the gift of travel” this season.
The Myrtle Beach economy, heavily reliant on tourism, has suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. First, beach closures shutdown on the region’s namesake amenity, then coronavirus cases tied to Grand Strand visitors over the summer gave the city a bad reputation
In spite of criticism, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce continued to spend money on advertising to would-be tourists in other markets, honing in on “driving markets” — people who don’t have to get on a plane to come here. Some said the chamber was encouraging people to come here, inherently increasing the risk of the spread of COVID-19.
The chamber, however, pressed on and said it tells visitors, “come here, but only if you wear a mask,” and to follow all safety precautions when in town.
The chamber’s latest bet is that they can convince holiday shoppers to purchase travel gift certificates or put money down for future bookings. If all goes according to plan, such spending would provide a needed monetary injection into the struggling hospitality industry, which could see another nosedive as cases continue to rise or if vaccines take longer than expected to administer widely.
While they always promote Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, the chamber shifted this year to advertise at the start of November rather than when the shopping holidays arrive.
“This is very new for us. We’ve never done this before,” Chamber CEO Karen Riordan said. “We’ve had some deals sometimes and offers on our visit Myrtle Beach dotcom website. But it’s never been a real focal point because we’ve never needed it to be. We’ve really always focused on getting people in the market in November.
“Instead of buying your spouse or your kids or your best friend, you know, a sweater, you know, buy them a gift card that they could use towards a hotel stay,” Riordan said.
She knows this won’t help day-to-day retail, however, which is why they still plan to put a big emphasis on Small Business Saturday and want people to support their local stores as much as possible.
Future vacation bookings are not “going to really put any money into that cash register in November or December or January for them,” Riordan said. “It’s easy to go online and shop. But you know what? Maybe you could go online, and instead of going to a big company like Amazon or Macy’s, maybe you could find a local retailer and you could still buy a Christmas present that way. That would really be helping a local business.”
The change contributes to the expansion of Black Friday into a “Cyber Month,” said Stephen Greene, the CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association.
“What’s really important for us this year, especially, is that, on the hospitality side” buying gift certificates for hotels, restaurants and retailers “is very important. These businesses have been devastated by COVID-19,” Greene said. “Anything we can do to support them and support these local businesses by these great deals and great opportunities really helps us and helps those businesses get through our off season.”
Myrtle Beach’s largest golf course operator is getting in on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales event. Founders Group International package providers MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com and MBN.com are offering golfers 50 percent off spring tee times when purchasing a minimum of a three-round package between Friday and Monday. FGI operates 21 courses between Pawleys Island and Little River and the special includes tee times before 8:30 a.m. and after 1 p.m. from March 1 through June 8.
Retail needs help, too
Myrtle Beach doesn’t scream “come shop here” like New York City.
It doesn’t have an Apple store and many of its smaller shops sell beach gear for $5.99 and under. If the beach shops are even open in November, Black Friday sales don’t make up nearly as much of their revenue as the summertime does.
Nevertheless, the Grand Strand serves as an important shopping hub for surrounding counties like Georgetown, Florence and Marion, as well as Brunswick and Columbus counties in North Carolina.
Grand Strand shopping centers like Tanger Outlets, Coastal Grand Mall and even Broadway at the Beach or Barefoot Landing all serve as magnets for shoppers.
“There will be opportunities that they have here that they may not have in their local community or their local area,” Greene said. “So as retail has significantly grown and we’ve got a lot of not only new local businesses, we’ve got national retailers…. That helps everyone because it does create an environment where people are going to want to come in and do their shopping because they know they have so many opportunities to find various things.”
The chamber isn’t just encouraging vacation bookings this year, though. They are also creating incentives for shopping at both local businesses and big box retailers.
Shoppers at Grand Strand businesses can send in receipt(s) (with the name and address of the business) to the chamber totaling $150 or more for a chance to win $150 entertainment, restaurant or shopping gift cards.
“This holiday season our retail business community is counting on local support more than ever,” Chamber spokeswoman Sarah Stephens said in an email. “Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday will all be important to the financial health of our local businesses.”
The in-person retail environment, though, will look different this year. Gone are the days of Target and Walmart competing for who can open earlier on Thanksgiving Day, a trend that got a lot of flack for encouraging people to forgo family time on the holiday to go out and fight for $200 TVs and $5 movies.
Walmart, Best Buy, JCPenney and Kohl’s went for 5 a.m. Friday this year as the start-time for launching sales. Target plans to maintain normal hours, opening at 8 a.m. in Myrtle Beach. Sears still wants to nab Turkey Day shoppers, though, opening from 6 p.m. Thursday to 12 a.m. Friday and then reopening at 5 a.m.
How big retail helps small businesses, Myrtle Beach community
At first glance, shopping at chain retailers might not seem like it’s helping the local economy.
The revenue from Broadway at the Beach’s Ron Jon store, for example, goes back to the national retailer as a whole. But, the local sales tax money goes to support the local government, which can provide assistance to the community and its businesses.
Shopping at these businesses also helps ensure jobs for the people who work at the stores.
Leisure and hospitality in the Myrtle Beach area make up 28% of jobs, whereas retail makes up another 20%.
“It’s important for us to remember that so much of that money comes back into our economy through taxes and through things that help support our community and, obviously, support jobs,” Greene said.
People going to Broadway at the Beach for the Ron Jon store might end up in a local restaurant. Or, maybe they’ll find their way to Coastal Carolina Winery, a store whose manager said it desperately needs Black Friday revenue after steep losses in the spring and late summer.
“I’m praying. I’m praying it turns out good, but we’ll see,” said Coastal Carolina Winery Manager Lauren Rawcliffe. “Don’t know until the day comes. I might be wrong. There might be a lot more people than I think.”
The dangers of in-person shopping
In-person shopping brings an element of danger this year, though, as being around strangers increases the risk of spreading or catching COVID-19.
Black Friday itself might as well be the worst nightmare of the public health community. Strangers crowding in lines for hours, rushing indoors en masse and touching common surfaces.
More than 210,000 have tested positive for the virus, with over 4,300 deaths in South Carolina. The virus has claimed the lives of over 260,000 in the U.S. as of Thanksgiving Day.
Retailers are attempting to prevent a mass spread of the virus by monitoring store occupancy to manage overcrowding and adhere to federal social distancing guidelines.
A large number of retailers require face masks to be worn inside stores regardless of local ordinances. Many retailers have already begun listing some of their best holiday sales online, product recommendation site Wirecutter says. Pandemic-induced interest in products like home fitness equipment, the Nintendo Switch and work-from-home essentials also means that the price consumers see now is likely to be the best price they get.
For example, Best Buy plans to only sell new video game consoles on its website in hopes of preventing a rush for one the most popular forms of pandemic entertainment.
Wirecutter also warns that people who wait to buy products, hoping for a better deal, may risk not getting them at all. The Nintendo Switch, for example, was sold out for months at the beginning of the pandemic after casual-life-simulator game Animal Crossing became a cornerstone of quarantine entertainment.
“It’s actually probably offering a better opportunity, to be honest. Think about it, if you waited in line for two hours, you’re waiting for that one TV and there’s a (limited) amount of TVs, the TVs are gone within the first hour,” Greene said. “You’re like, crap, I can’t get that TV. Well, if I have a week or two weeks of different sales that are coming for different TVs and different opportunities, I probably have a better chance of getting that product than I would if I was waiting in line for the mad dash to get those sales.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
