Retailers hope people don't rush to shop off-Island when borders open

The manager at a women's clothing store in Charlottetown never thought shewould see business increase during the pandemic but that's exactly what happened.

Domonique Ripley, store lead at Maurices, said they've been about 20 per cent busier per month, which translates into about $14,000more in sales each month.

Now she worries the new business could be lost when the borders reopen.

"They don't have to go to Moncton to get good deals," Ripley said.

"We're scared that the people whodid get in here and discover us may not come back if they're going shopping in Moncton or Halifax."

Ripley said it was nice to see people noticing what stores were here and she hopesto keep the momentum going.

She said she's spoken to other retailerswho alsonoticed a nice jump in business because people were not travelling elsewhere.

"I think people are just getting out and talking more about the stores that are in Charlottetown or P.E.I."

'Exciting to see'

Molly Brookins, the manager atclothing storeBoathouse in Charlottetown Mall, said when stores opened back up during pandemic it was nice to see the support.

"It was actually really exciting to see the amount of people that were staying local," Brookins said.

Brookinssaid the store's policy is not to share retail sales numbers but said it was much busier.

"It was super busy, it was very significant," she said. "We've been really, really lucky."

She said there was a noticeable jump for back-to-school shopping, black Friday and various special occasions such as Mother's Day.

Brookins expects to see an initial rush of people leaving to go shopping she knows shopping in Moncton is a "big thing."

"It's going to be that big boom of excitement to be like, 'Oh my gosh we missed it last year we're doing it this year,'" Brookins said.

She said she's hopeful local shops will still do well and people will be more awareabout what's at the local mall.

"I really do feel like they're going to come back," she said.

Some customers keen, others not inrush

CBC spoke to customers to find outwhere they planned to shop when travel restrictions are lifted.

Mary Hannah said she plans to stay local.

"I know there's lots of people that are just dying to get across to do some shopping but we have to keep our local people in business," Hannah said.

Jocelyne Ludgate said pre-pandemic she would go off-Island a couple of times a year for shopping, and she liked bulk buying at Costco.

She said she doesn't expect to rush over the bridge to shop, as she's come to like smaller stores with fewer people.

"I'm not really interested in running to Moncton or to Halifax and just being crowded like that so I'll wait til things die down and make a trip later on," Ludgate said.

KayleeMcCabe is excited to shop off-Island, and said it's a tradition for many in P.E.I. to leave to do a big shopping trip.

"I think once the bridge is open and everything looks safe, I think we're planning on taking a trip to Moncton or Halifax and doing some shopping," McCabe said.

She said she enjoys going somewhere else to shop and although she likes to support local, she expectsto spend more off-Island than she would locally.

"It's nice to make a day out of it," she said.

Ripley, at Maurices, hopes people's mindset will be changed by the pandemic experience.

"I think if people start getting back to the mindset that we don't have stuff that Moncton and Halifax does then retail is going to start hurting again," Ripley said.

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