Wilmington businesses still recovering from pandemic, offering holiday deals on Cyber Monday

Holiday shoppers were likely glued to their devices, hoping to score online deals on Cyber Monday.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Holiday shoppers were likely glued to their devices, hoping to score online deals on Cyber Monday.

While the holiday is typically huge for large box stores as people search for deals on TVs, computers, and other big-ticket items, but the owner of Modern Legend, a boutique in downtown Wilmington, Catherine Hawksworth says shopping small through the holiday seasons is one of the most important things you can do for the local economy.

She says it may seem like small businesses are back on their feet following the pandemic, but they are still working to recover.

“We are not good yet no matter how well you’re doing like we’re doing great and a lot of businesses down here are doing great but it doesn’t make up for what a small business goes through something like that,” Hawksworth said. “You could never plan for something like that. You can plan for hurricanes, kind of, you can plan for life happening, but you can’t plan for a global pandemic. Like, that’s crazy. The bouncing back is going to be…some time.”

Last year proved to be a unique challenge for small businesses, so Hawksworth and others like her are grateful to be able to pack orders and offer deals on Cyber Monday. She says the community is to thank for getting them through the pandemic.

“Wilmington shows up. Our customers show up, the town shows up, and that’s the only reason why any of us made it through this,” Hawksworth said. “We’ve been luckier than a lot, let’s put it that way. I think if I was living in a major city and I didn’t have the tight-knit thing that we have here, and we didn’t have our regulars, and we didn’t have that sense of community, it would have been almost impossible to get through.”

Making it all the more important to shop small through the holidays.  Modern Legend is offering 25-percent off sitewide for Cyber Monday. For more updates on deals and new merchandise, follow their Facebook and Instagram pages.

Down the street at Aqua Fedora, the store is offering 20-percent off sitewide and the deals don’t stop on Cyber Monday. Manager Isabelle Tiller says their “25 Days of Deals” begins on Wednesday.

“For 25 days we have a holiday special to help out, to get people coming in-store and shopping and supporting local and also bringing everybody downtown because we have so many amazing places downtown to shop,” Tiller said.

Each day, a new deal will be shared on the store’s Instagram page. 

If you are looking for a unique Christmas gift, you may not have to look too far outside of your own zip code.

“A lot of the big box stores, they’re great but here I feel like every store has a unique touch to it so it’s fun to kind of come in and get stuff that you won’t get in other places,” Tiller said.