Victoria businesses say postal strike changed customer habits

Holiday shopping is gearing up with Christmas only three weeks away, and downtown Victoria businesses are noticing a change in customer habits as the Canada Post strike continues.

According to the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA), some shops are seeing positive outcomes while others are facing challenges.

“I really think it depends on what kind of business you are operating,” DVBA CEO Jeff Bray said Tuesday.

For Oscar and Libby’s, a Victoria-based gift store, in-store sales have remained at seasonal levels.

Owner Teri Hustins told CHEK News the difference she is noticing is with the store’s online sales.

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“We have noticed is an uptick in online sales with shipping, particularly in the last week when locals and Canadians realized that the postal strike wasn’t ending any time soon,” Hustins said.

She said they are making trips every morning to UPS with increasing amounts of online orders being shipped to cities across the country.

Hustins believes customers are avoiding the expensive shipping costs that come with finding their own delivery service.

“It is way more cost-effective for the customer to shop online, with a local independent store, and if they have things that need to be mailed, select that shipping option because it will be way cheaper than the customer coming into the store, purchasing it, going home, wrapping it and taking it to UPS,” she explained.

However for The Papery, a popular spot for holiday cards, business is heading in the wrong direction.

“Our card sales are down I would say at least 25 to 30 per cent,” said Michael Rodgers, The Papery owner and president.

He said without Canada Post delivery workers on the job, people are having a harder time sending out Christmas cards, adding this mean hundreds of themed cards are now sitting unused.

“It’s sitting on the shelf and it’s money we would normally use to restock and then we have to start that process again,” Rodgers said.

“So for a strike like this, it is a year or two to recover from that for a business like ours.”

Canada Post said it is still waiting for the union, representing 55,000 workers, to respond to a framework agreement it presented last weekend.

The biggest issues the workers are fighting for are wages, working conditions, pensions and the expansion of postal services.

The Retail Council of Canada is calling on the federal government to intervene.

READ MORE: Canada Post strike nears three-week mark amid pressure for government intervention

Bray said if the strike doesn’t end soon, it could become detrimental to local businesses.

“The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has stated that if this isn’t resolved by the middle of this week, it’s going to cost small and medium sized businesses about a billion dollars, which is not something the businesses can handle right now.”

Until the strike ends, businesses and advocacy groups told CHEK News the message is clear.

“Shopping local is a good thing,” Bruce Williams, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce CEO, said.

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