West Virginia Retailers Association Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Governor’s Signed And Vetoed Bills, COVID-19 Impacts And The Race For U.S. Senate, This West Virginia Week

WVPB looked at what did and didn’t get the governor’s signature and we continue our series looking back at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic four years after its start.

We also take a look at the Republican primary race for a U.S. Senate seat, as well as updates from the state police on investigations into sexual misconduct.

On this West Virginia Week, the deadline for the governor to sign or veto bills from the state legislature’s regular session before they automatically become law was this week, and WVPB looked at what did and didn’t get the governor’s signature.

We continue our series looking back at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail and outdoor recreation four years after its start.

We also take a look at the Republican primary race for a U.S. Senate seat, as well as updates from the state police on investigations into sexual misconduct.

Chris Schulz is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Randy Yohe.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Food Divide In W.Va. Widens With Rising Costs, Supply Chain Issues

Supply chain issues and rising gas prices are worsening food access in the Mountain State. West Virginian entrepreneurs are looking to meet the demand for food.

The American food retail landscape is structured around hypermarkets, such as Walmart, which carry out large scale food distribution for population centers. Smaller grocery stores have provided services for rural communities. But that may be in jeopardy.

Bridget Lambert is the president of the West Virginia Retailer Association. She says smaller grocery stores are disappearing partly due to an unstable supply chain.

“They rely on food distribution networks that deliver to rural areas,” Lambert said. “About several years ago we had a large distribution center close in the Cabell County area.”

And that has filtered down to smaller locations. On April 1st, 2022, the Poca Foodfair permanently closed its doors, meaning residents have to travel to neighboring towns for the bulk of their groceries.

Jackie Dolan lives in Poca. She travels to Dunbar, Nitro, and Eleanor for her grocery shopping.

“You can’t make 2, 3, or 4 trips, you know I have to plan one whole day,” Dolan said.

The rising price of gas, and the rising costs of products are changing the shopping habits of the state’s rural residents.

“So instead of going to the store weekly, they may go bi-weekly, or once a month,” Lambert said. “Of course, the increased cost of gasoline, that money will come out of a family’s budget somewhere, and it may well come out of the food budget.”

For a long time, residents of Clay County have lived without ready access to a full service grocery store. Clay County is often considered one of the worst food deserts in the state.

In November 2021, a Par Mar store fitted with grocery products opened in Maysel to help meet the demand for a grocer.

“Usually you have to go either to Elkview or Sutton; at Kroger or the Save-a-lot, but since we got this place here, it’s helped out a whole lot,” Par Mar cashier Ethan Smith said.

*Grocery aisle at the Par Mar in Maysel. Credit: David Adkins/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Aside from the Par Mar, local businesses in Clay County have helped expand food access.

Stores like House’s Supermarket in Brickmore meet the community’s grocery needs, minus certain types of fresh meat.

There’s also Legacy Foods: Market and Bakery in Indore, and the Clay County Farmers Market in Clay.

“Food desert situations have created some very unique opportunities for small business owners in West Virginia to open niche markets, ” Lambert said. “Communities are stepping up and addressing this situation in a multitude of ways.”

According to Lambert, those investing in a local food market need to know the local food landscape, such as demand, population size, store location, and distribution networks. She noted that consumers appreciate shopping close to home, meaning there is a steady demand.

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program is part of the American Rescue Plan. The program aims to strengthen local supply chains and support local producers.

Unique Situations Influence W.Va. Inflation Challenges

West Virginia is seeing many of the same, and some quite different, situations in surviving rising inflation rates.

West Virginia Retailers Association President Bridget Lambert offered several examples. She said people are holding on to their automobiles longer because new models aren’t available. She said this is helping out state automobile parts stores and repair shops.

On the other hand, she said with the state’s rural nature, getting basic goods and services becomes more costly for many families.

“Just shopping for groceries in some areas can be a very long trip, up to an hour, to get to a full service grocery store,” Lambert said. “And it can be very difficult for consumers to make those trips.”

Lambert said more families are making monthly rather than weekly trips for groceries.

She said in West Virginia the ability to get goods and services to the customer has changed in other ways.

“The industry now highlights curbside deliveries and pickups for customers,” Lambert said. “They can order and make one trip and it’s delivered right into their car. They don’t have to go into the retail establishment any longer. And let’s not forget how many people are now utilizing delivery to their own front door. All this is here in West Virginia to stay.”

Lambert said more families are making meals at home so grocery stores are benefiting from increased consumer demand and restaurants are feeling the pinch.

“I think the restaurant industry will rebound to a certain point,” Lambert said. “But I think consumers still will be watching the bottom line and will be cautious and limit their number of visits to a restaurant.”

Additionally, she said with rising fuel costs, many West Virginia public transportation entities are cutting back on upgrade plans.

Some possible good news, Lambert said many seasonal items that sat in California crates last year are now doubled up in many stores. So, if you need lawn furniture or garden tools, you have choices.

Holiday Shopping Outlook Bright For W.Va. Retailers

The holiday season is the peak time for the retail industry but this year has come with some unique challenges. Eric Douglas spoke with Bridget Lambert, the president of the West Virginia Retailers Association, to find out how things were going for Mountain State retailers.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: Let’s talk about the holiday season for retailers in West Virginia. How’s it going so far?

Lambert: This season, as you know, we went into it with a little trepidation, because I don’t think we knew exactly what to expect with all the changes we’ve seen this past couple of years during the holidays. It’s been a very strong season for retailers in our state and across the country. We also saw them wading through supply industry issues that we have not seen previously. It’s been unprecedented. However, our industry seems to be ever-evolving. So they responded as best they could. And we’ve seen a very strong shopping season this holiday so far.

Douglas: Is there any one sector that’s stronger than another? Or is it just kind of across the board.

Lambert: It’s across the board, as it usually is. When people are shopping for the holidays they shop for everyone — from their elderly relatives to the youngest people in their family. So everyone has different and varied interests, and we’re seeing that play out. Black Friday seemed to take precedence over the other four days and it outpaced Small Business Saturday, actually.

We saw a slight decrease on Cyber Monday this year. As you can imagine Cyber Monday was always a growing trend as people started shopping online. And I think industry representatives have alluded to the fact that people have become very accustomed to shopping online now in ways that they didn’t previously. So Cyber Monday was not the big bang it usually is for consumers.

Douglas: I’ve heard some speculation nationally, that part of the reason for that might be the supply chain issues, that people were worried about not being able to get things online or being sold out online. So they were shopping directly. Have you heard anything to that effect?

Lambert: There’s a two-fold answer to that question. Foot traffic in the stores was very heavy this weekend. We saw people come out. We think people want to be out shopping, they want that interaction with other consumers and the retailers. They want to see the merchandise that they’re purchasing, they want to feel it and check it out.

The other thing is, yes, people are aware that we were having some industry supply chain issues. About 84 percent of shoppers have disclosed that they started shopping early this season all the way back even in October, and about 52 percent of shoppers have not completed their holiday shopping this year.

Douglas: What are some of the challenges facing retailers in general and especially for the holiday season?

Lambert: Any challenges we may be facing are the ones we’re hearing about. Retailers have prepared. They’ve got a lot of stock in their stock rooms, they’re doing the curbside pickup, the items are already in the store when you order online for same day pickup. So we’ve done a lot to prepare in the industry for the supply chain issues that we’re dealing with. However, people do need to continue to be diligent with what they want. Shop locally in stores. If one doesn’t have it, look at the others. And that’s really a consumer concern.

One of the other issues retailers have been dealing with, of course, is labor issues. We have a lot of signs in our windows asking for employees. And so we are definitely hiring this holiday season that continues, and will be for several more weeks. Labor shortages and supply chain issues are the two things that our members have been most concerned about, but I think that they adapted as best they could. And savvy shoppers will have the ability to get the items they need this year.

Douglas: Have you or any of your retailers in the association seen any of these direct supply and supply chain issues that they just can’t get some of the things that they were expecting to have?

Lambert: Some of the retailers that I represent are the retailers who have lots of merchandise sitting off the coast of California on a cargo ship. Are we seeing consumer complaints to a huge level about that in our stores? No, we’re not. As I said our retailers have, and are, looking at different ways or different shifts in the supply chain. Many of them recently had a meeting at the White House with President (Joe) Biden to discuss the supply chain issues that are occurring, and to find solutions to get this backlog released so we can just go on to business as usual once we get to 2022. But, it’s a work in progress. I don’t think anyone has a magic bullet for the solution at the moment.

Douglas: How is inflation affecting retailers in this state?

Lambert: Inflation is impacting our industry as most industries. However, during the shopping season, our state is always very family-oriented. And inflation a lot of times does not seem to impact West Virginia’s holiday shoppers. We’re not seeing a huge impact. If you look at the number of customers shopping over this past holiday weekend, we’re having a very strong holiday season. I think that’s the proof of where retail is at this point.

Douglas: I saw nationally the other day that they were predicting that people would be spending between 8.5 and 10.5 percent more this year than in previous years.

Lambert: Yes, the retail industry is projecting sales this holiday season nationally between 8.5 and 10.5 percent over spending in 2020. The last five year averages or so we average between 5 and 8 percent. As recently as just yesterday, our retail industry and all of the surveys they’ve taken, we are exactly on those numbers. We are on trend.

Pseudoephedrine Sales Decline in W.Va.

Pseudoephedrine sales in West Virginia are down 30 percent this year compared to the same five-month period in 2013.

Data from the NPLEx tracking system show pharmacies in West Virginia have sold 145,526 boxes of cold medications containing pseudoephedrine since January. Pharmacies sold 205,113 boxes during the same period last year.

The data also show a 40 percent decrease in the number of pseudoephedrine purchases that are blocked.

Pseudoephedrine is a cold medication ingredient that’s used illegally to manufacture methamphetamine.

West Virginia Retailers Association executive director Bridget Lambert tells media outlets that she plans to ask the Legislature to take an additional step to restrict pseudoephedrine sales. She proposes creation of a meth-offender registry that would prohibit people convicted of meth-related crimes from buying pseudoephedrine.