TRAVERSE CITY -- One slice of business at Bob Sutherland's Cherry Republic shop surged 35 percent this year, without a single soul walking through the company's doors.
Online business is booming at the popular, all-things-cherry shop downtown and at the company's headquarters in Glen Arbor, where more holiday shoppers are turning to the Internet to "cyber-shop" their way through Christmas lists.
"It's a huge part of our business," said Sutherland, who added that online sales represent 15 percent of the store's total sales volume. "It just gets bigger and bigger after Thanksgiving."
Sutherland launched his company's Web site 10 years ago with a small grant from the Cherry Marketing Institute. Business was light at first, he said, but now four staffers handle the company's online sales. And there's no sign things will slow anytime soon.
"People are getting much more comfortable doing things online," Sutherland said.
Nationally, online shopping is expected to top $30 billion this year, according to Dow Jones' MarketWatch. That's an increase of more than 20 percent from last year. Through the first half of November, online retail shopping exceeded $7 billion, up 17 percent from the same period last year.
Shoppers like Sheryl Cox are doing more online buying than ever. The Commerce Township woman shopped on "Black Friday" in downtown Traverse City with family from Mesick, but said it was more of a social outing because she does most of her "power Christmas shopping" on the Web.
"I do a lot more of it than I used to," Cox said. "I'm cautious about what (credit) card I use, but I've had excellent success with it ... you have to be online. The next generation, that's what they're moving to."
Online shopping even has its own day; the Monday following Thanksgiving is now dubbed "Cyber Monday" because of the surge in Internet sales that follow the traditional post-holiday busy shopping weekend. Almost 75 percent of Internet stores surveyed by the National Retail Federation will offer special online sales and promotions like free shipping on Monday.
Other local shop owners said their e-commerce isn't soaring, but they're still putting more emphasis on Internet sales. Stacy Sheren Colombo of Holiday Traditions on East Front Street said her Internet sales are "standing pretty still at the moment" but she plans a major Web site upgrade in early 2008.
"I think it's important, especially as another way to reach out to your customers," she said.
Other businesses face unique challenges in the online marketplace. For shops like Horizon Books downtown, competing with Web heavyweights like AbeBooks and Amazon.com is tough, said sales manager Amy Reynolds.
"We're not out there competing on bestsellers," Reynolds said. "We're more of an events Web site, rather than a sales Web site."
Still, the Web adds about two percent to the company's sales figures, she said, and spurs "niche" sales like specialty or hard-to-find titles.
But online shopping isn't for everyone. Shann Louis of Kewadin said she bought one gift for her husband over the Internet, but prefers the old-fashioned way of pounding the pavement on her way to her favorite shops in Elk Rapids and Traverse City.
"I try to patronize our local shops and our local industries," she said. "Besides, there's nothing like walking around downtown to get you into the holiday spirit."
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