As holiday shoppers work hard to scratch people off their lists in the comfort of their own home, local Door County businesses are helping make that a little easier. The National Retail Federation is expecting holiday shopping this year will increase between 3.6 and 5.2 percent this year, with much of that growth coming from online sales. Bea’s Ho-Made Products general manager Jeni Tveten says its online sales have been strong since the spring, but they have gotten only busier with people clamoring for jams and jellies from Gills Rock.
Renard’s owner Ann Renard says they are being kept busy with the rush of holiday orders this year. Their cheese boxes are expected to cross the border into Canada and go as far as Alaska and Hawaii. Renard adds that many of the notes they are writing are for people unable to travel for the holidays.
Both Tveten and Renard recommend shoppers make their orders early so they can get the packages to their destination in time for Christmas. Renard says they have been able to adjust their timetable to fit with the delays being felt by local carriers. In order to get underneath the Christmas tree this year, the United States Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS all recommend getting those packages in for normal ground shipping no later than December 15th.
