Jan. 8, 2014:  An abbreviated four-weekend 2013 Christmas shopping season, with Thanksgiving falling on the latest possible calendar date, compounded by less-than-favorable weather on at least two of those shopping weekends, could have spelled depressed sales for Bronxville merchants. According to several of those merchants, however, it didn't, and that's good news for local business.

Keith Dunn, manager of Value Drugs at 80 Pondfield Road, reported that business in the store stayed brisk throughout the shopping season, but its short duration "made us work harder." He attributed strong sales to the wide variety of items available in the store.

"Business was fine, other than on the bad weather days," said Gene Sgarlata, owner of Womrath Bookshop at 76 Pondfield Road. "Unfortunately, we didn't make up for those days, but the last three days before Christmas we were hammered." He noted that, with Christmas on a Wednesday, placing special orders on Monday made guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas difficult.

Sgarlata said that this season, people were more willing to buy than in the recent past. Along with strong sales of books from the bestseller lists as well as paperback books, top gift items included The Goldfinch, a novel by Donna Tartt, and the nonfiction works The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown and Things that Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics by Charles Krauthammer.

At Silk Road, 101 Pondfield Road, owner Sue Piper said that, despite the shortened shopping season, the store enjoyed a steady flow of customers between Thanksgiving and Christmas. "Business was slow on the bad weather days," she said, "but it recovered." New this year was Silk Road's online store, which brought orders from as far away as Georgia and Illinois.

Unlike years past, Piper noted that more customers came to the store after having researched merchandise and done price comparisons on items they wanted to purchase. A few customers asked the store to match prices they had found elsewhere.

"I think people were making a real effort to shop locally this year," Piper said. To encourage customers, Silk Road offered local gift delivery service and a wish list that customers could fill out to help friends and family shop for gifts. Alpaca hats, gloves, socks, and boot warmers proved popular items this season.

Piper remains cautiously optimistic about 2014's retail outlook, however, because of an overall decrease in street traffic coupled with a decrease in impulse buying.

"We had a decent Christmas season," said Anna Tryforos-Kenney of Tryforos & Pernice Florists at 73 Pondfield Road. "It was busy but not hectic to the point of being exhausted." She explained that, with fewer companies giving big parties and corporate gifts, and more companies cutting back on decorations, their business has changed over the past few years. Residential decorating, she said, remained robust.

Although Tryforos-Kenney feels that traffic in the business district was somewhat quiet, the store enjoyed its advantage of being able to take and deliver telephone orders, a large percentage of their business.

Carol Starkweather, manager at Lisa Jones at 66 Pondfield Road, felt that downtown traffic was comparable to Christmas 2012. She reported a busy and successful season at the store despite the bad weather that may have kept some shoppers away.

The short shopping and bad weather had both positive and negative effects on sales at Provisions for Pets, according to owners Steve and Phyllis Singer. The bad weather increased sales of a snow- and ice-thawing composition that is safe for dogs. Sales of pet toys, however, were down.

"People were being very careful about shopping this year," Steve Singer said. "They're wary about the economy and what it will bring." Even with shoppers giving extra thought to holiday purchases, Singer estimated that his 2013 Christmas season was approximately five percent better than the 2012 season. "It's still not back to where it was before 2008," he said.

Pictured here:  Shops on Pondfield Road.

Photo by A. Warner