When the pandemic hit in 2020, Mitch Allen knew the holidays were going to be rough for Santa visits. The founder of Hire Santa, which helps connect professional Santas with malls and other businesses, had to get creative. From virtual appointments to socially distanced visits, the company made a makeshift holiday work.

This Christmas, as we (kind of) emerge from Covid, the magic is in high demand, but there might not be enough to go around.

Where’s Santa? More than 1,275 full-season mall Santa jobs are currently open across the industry, Allen (and self-proclaimed “Head Elf”) told Retail Brew, adding that he’s seen 15% fewer Santa Claus entertainers this year versus last Christmas season.

• Some Santas died last year due to Covid, Allen said, and others are avoiding in-person gatherings because of the virus.

Meanwhile, there’s been a 121% increase in people reaching out to Hire Santa for events this year from 2020 and 2019 (interest was flat in 2020 over 2019), Allen said. He puts it at “hundreds” calling every day, and his company has already started booking for 2022.

“Our retail clients use Santa to give back to their customers, but the primary reason is about drawing people into their establishments and having them spend time there,” Allen said. “Santa is a huge draw.”

The spirit is alive

Indeed, from Neiman Marcus to Taubman Centers, retail still believes in Santa.

“People are craving a return to normalcy, that thing they did every year, something their parents took them to, and now they’re taking their kids,” Taubman President and COO Bill Taubman told us. “There’s a realization on the consumer’s part that they love the experience of being at the mall, and they miss it. And they’re coming back to it almost with a vengeance this holiday.”

He emphasized the in-store holiday experience as “critical to communicating and establishing brand value and developing an emotional connection with the customer that differentiates you.”

• This year, Taubman is working with Cherry Hill Programs to bring the “Santa’s Flight Academy holiday experience” to half of its 24 malls. Children don’t merely get pictures with Santa, they complete a present-delivery mission with him.

Taubman has already seen lines for Santa visits steadily increasing across the company’s properties, especially during after-school hours and on the weekends.

“Customers waited in line for over three hours to have Santa take a photo with their pet,” he said of an event at The Mall at Short Hills, in New Jersey, earlier this month. Santa’s Flight Academy has been tracking to pre-pandemic levels, and the company expects it will exceed 2019 foot traffic.

Get real: Michael Brown, a partner in consumer products and retail practice at Kearney, agreed that the pent-up urge to get out of the house could be working in physical retail’s favor this holiday season.

“Consumers are spending 12 hours a day on their computer working. The last thing they want to do is spend another three hours on [a screen] shopping for Christmas,” he said.

Visiting Santa, too, is more of an experience than an errand. You stop at Starbucks for a peppermint hot chocolate, maybe take a trip to the toy store while you’re at it. “Santa gives Mom one more reason that she has to go to the mall. She has to take the kids, and it’s a happy day for the entire family,” Brown explained.

“It’s a much longer stay at the mall,” he continued. “You’re surrounded by a lot more joy, rather than just walking into a store, looking at products, and standing in lines.”

From reading hours to selfies, click here to read more about how Neiman Marcus, American Dream, and more are thinking about Santa this year.—JG

Black Friday didn’t quite deliver on any record-breaking numbers this year. (We’re still waiting for our new air fryer to show up outside our door, but we digress.) But there was a first: Online sales dipped YoY. They totaled $8.9 billion, per Adobe Analytics, down from $9 billion in 2020.

“For the first time ever, Black Friday saw a reversal of the growth trend of past years. Shoppers are being strategic in their gift shopping, buying much earlier in the season and being flexible about when they shop to make sure they get the best deals,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement.

• Consumers have already spent $99.1 billion this month (through November 28), a 13.6% YoY bump.

By the numbers: Store visits on Black Friday, meanwhile, were up 47.5% this year, compared to 2020 (when we were still masked up), per Sensormatic Solutions. But looking back to pre-pandemic times, they were down 28.3%.

• That drop was a whopping 90.4% on Thanksgiving Day, from 2019.
• Online spend on Thanksgiving Day too was flat from 2020, coming in at $5.1 billion, according to Adobe.

Looking ahead...to today, aka Cyber Monday. Adobe expects online shoppers will spend between $10.2 billion to $11.3 billion. But Taylor Schreiner, director at Adobe Digital Insights, told us last week that he’s keeping an eye on the blurring of the discount days.

“With online shopping and in-store pickups, you’re going to see a real blurring of the line between what is online and offline shopping,” he said.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Remembering Virgil Abloh: The designer died this weekend at age 41, after a private battle with a rare cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. As the founder of Off-White and artistic director for Louis Vuitton’s menswear (and so much more), Abloh’s impact on the industry is tough to put into words. But here are some articles that do.

• In an in-depth 2019 profile, Abloh talks about how streetwear is linked to Duchamp and readymade, along with his “3% approach” to design. (New Yorker)
• An oral history of Abloh, by Abloh and dozens of “friends, collaborators, and mentors.” (GQ)
• Abloh didn’t consider himself a designer; he was redefining roles. (Business of Fashion)
• How Abloh made navigating the fashion industry feel real for Black designers. (Washington Post)
• ​​“There are people around this room who look like me,” Abloh told the New York Times in 2018. “You never saw that before in fashion. The people have changed, and so fashion had to.” (New York Times)

A year in review coupled with a psychic reveal is how some would describe our upcoming session of The Checkout. We’re predicting that you’re in.

On December 14, at 12:00pm ET, Walgreens and Foxtrot will be joining us to discuss the retail trends of 2021, so that we can progress in 2022. Sign up right here for our last virtual event of the year.

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

Speaking of 2021...We also want to hear from you on what retail trends were the most overlooked this year. NFTs? Fifteen-minute delivery? Live-streaming?

And, on the flip side, which were the most overhyped? NFTs? Fifteen-minute delivery? Live-streaming?

Cast your vote right here. And drop us a line in our inbox with your thoughts.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Why Patagonia is making wine (and beer and chili and hot sauce and more)
• Personalization is now key to the online shopping experience
• Your guide to virtual fitting rooms