With the holiday season in full swing, shoppers making purchases at any of 32 different downtown stores can take part in a sweepstakes that could reward them for shopping local.
“It’s a freebie if you’re going to do something anyway… it’s a very good thing,” said Mary Jo Morman, owner of Celtic Tides. “It has evolved. People that participate need to get their entry with a small purchase.”
The rules laid out on Main Street Lexington’s website say that participants must spend at least $10 at one of the participating stores in order to receive a sticker for their bingo card. Participants must receive at least five stickers from five different stores to be entered into the sweepstakes.
Additional stickers beyond five count toward additional entries. Shoppers who visit and purchase items in all 32 participating stores will receive seven total entries.
Winners will be chosen by random drawing on Jan. 6. The first name pulled receives the $750 grand prize to spend at any downtown store, followed by $150 for second place and $100 for third.
Main Street Lexington rebranded the sweepstakes last year, replacing the Love Lex Lotto, which did not require any participants to spend money in the participating stores. Business owners said the previous system often drew people who only wanted to collect stickers.
“The idea was to get people to pop into places locally and get them to shop somewhere they might not otherwise,” Morman said. “But people would send kids in to get the sticker, and it would defeat the purpose.”
Other business owners agreed with Morman.
“The best decision they made was to add the purchase because there would be a line of people and somebody would throw the card at you,” said Siobhan Deeds, owner of Pumpkinseeds.
This year, Main Street Lexington extended the timeframe. In previous years, the sweepstakes ran from Thanksgiving until Dec. 23, a window that some said was too tight for early shoppers. Now, the sweepstakes runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 20.
“It used to go up until Dec. 23 but a lot of stores were closed,” said Hannah Hughes, co-manager of Sugar Maple Trading Company. “People who are early bird shoppers have had a better opportunity to be involved.”
While many of the business owners were happy with the change, others say they have a harder time measuring whether the event brings business through the door.
“It’s a fun thing. It’s fun when someone comes in to buy something and they ask for a sticker.” said Paige Williams, owner of Downtown Books.
But when asked if sales increase during the promotion, she said, “I don’t know that we have. It’s hard to tell without asking each person to know for sure what effect it has.”
Williams said this year’s rebrand also introduced customized stickers featuring each business’s logo. Main Street Lexington provides all of the participating businesses with both the stickers and bingo cards for participating businesses with both the stickers and bingo cards for participants.
Many store owners said they hope the Shop Small Sweepstakes will remain an annual tradition.
“We’ve done it since [Sugar Maple Trading Company has] been open, all 7 years,” Hughes said. “People are definitely being more mindful when they shop. Just getting a few little things and overall it’s been good.”
Beyond the promotion itself, Williams said she sees trends emerge in what customers buy during the holiday season.
“Candle sales go up,” she said.“I see an increase in children’s books and books on the best sellers list. [The buyers] know that someone they’re buying for likes a certain author. Journals also become more popular.”
Hughes also said that Sugar Maple Trading Company sees an increase in candle sales, but other items are also more popular during the holiday season. “Man bars, which are large bars of soap that are super fragrant, are the number one stocking stuffer for men,” Hughes said.
Morman said she was surprised at the amount of food products sold during the holidays.
“We’ve sold more of the mince pies, and people are understanding what European cuisine is,” Morman said. People always think about those fruit cakes from the supermarket, and I’ve given people tastes to show what a traditional Irish fruitcake is like, which is more cake and good taste.”
For college shoppers, one trend stood out even more. “Young people have gotten into tea. That sells out like crazy,” Morman said.
