Fragrance couriers and digital shop windows: this is how you buy Christmas gifts now

The lockdown is coming, many shops have to close.

To be more precise: the sales room has to close.

Some stores are now trying digital shop windows.

The market town also offers help.

Holzkirchen - In the

past, only the Christ Child was at the door in mid-December, in the corona year a hard lockdown has joined.

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, a number of retailers in Holzkirchen will have to lock up, at least until January 10th.

Bookstores, clothing stores, sports shops, goldsmiths, hairdressers and hardware stores are affected.

Eva-Maria Schmitz, location promoter in the town hall, wrote to all entrepreneurs yesterday “to give me an overview of whether and what the stores are planning during the lockdown”.

Initial feedback suggests that many retailers do not want to remain idle.

"Some are now using their experiences from the first lockdown in spring," says Schmitz.

In addition, the tightened contact restrictions had not only been foreseeable since the weekend.

As in the spring, the community wants to point out all lockdown shopping alternatives in the area on its homepage (menu “Experience / Shop at home”) as soon as possible.

Hope rests on the telephone and the Internet.

Now the experiences from the first lockdown are paying off

Tamara Berisha, co-owner of the two dress code shops in town (shoes and fashion), relies on the digital map.

“We put new pictures on our social media channels every day.” In the first lockdown, the experience was that customers like to pick good offers.

Orders came not only from Holzkirchen and the surrounding area, but also from Bremen, Hamburg and Dortmund.

“We were surprised that it was so well received,” says Berisha, “I can only recommend it.” Customers can pick up what they have ordered, have it sent to them - or it is delivered.

According to Schmitz, it would be conceivable that the community would set up a joint delivery service together with shopkeepers: "That could work at short notice, if it is desired." to see a chance to rethink sales channels and not leave the internet to Amazon and Zalando.

"There are free training courses and workshops for this."

Fragrances now come to the customer by bike

The timing is bitter, but the fighting spirit unbroken: The tightened corona lockdown from Wednesday hits the Holzkirchen perfumery, of all days, on the busiest days of the year, when fragrant gifts are very popular.

The team of branch manager Karo Morawskyi reacts with plan B: A delivery service is supposed to save part of the Christmas turnover.

"It's not over on Wednesday," emphasizes Morawskyi, "if the weather somehow permits, we will deliver the fragrances by bike until Christmas Eve."

Especially December 22nd and 23rd, they hurt the perfumery.

“On the two days we sell more than anything else in the year,” says the branch manager on request.

After all: business has been going well in the past few days.

But that cannot make up for the loss of the “gold days” before the presents were presented.

To save what can be saved, the telephones should glow.

The team will be in the store from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. to advise customers over the phone and take orders.

The goods will be delivered within a radius of up to 15 kilometers, Morawskyi promises: "If you order by 11 a.m. on Christmas Eve, your last-minute gift will be delivered." Collection is also possible.

Plan B can help, but cannot replace the pre-Christmas walk-in customers.

The branch manager assumes that the shop on Oskar-von-Miller-Platz can expect up to 60 percent losses in use.