Tag Archives: brick-and-mortar

BBB: Must-know trends for Black Friday 2025 — small business edition

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Black Friday is quickly approaching, offering a valuable opportunity to connect with customers in meaningful ways. As you begin planning your holiday marketing, taking a look at last year’s trends and performance can spark stronger ideas and help you shape campaigns that truly resonate this season. What you’ll learn: • Key shopping and spending trends shaping Black Friday 2025 • How changing consumer behaviors can guide your sales strategy • Practical ways to use data and technology to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction this holiday season Because Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, it also offers small business owners the chance to generate a good amount of revenue BBB provides the following stats from 2024 to help plan your 2025 Black Friday strategy. Holiday online shopping surpassed $131 billion in 2024. Between November 1 and December 2, 2024, consumers spent $131. 5 billion online, up 9% from 2023. Mobile shopping made up over 50% of those sales. Consumers are spreading out their purchases across the full holiday season. Start advertising early and maintain consistent deals to capture both early planners and last-minute buyers. Remember the males. Seventy-three percent of men say that Black Friday is a great day for deals, compared to 67% of women. When people think of Black Friday shopping, most assume females will be the ones to take full advantage of getting up and heading out to save a few bucks. 73% of men stated that if presented with the right deal, they could be convinced to shop Black Friday deals compared to 67% of women. Shoppers are starting earlier than ever. 92% of consumers begin researching deals before the holiday season, and nearly half track discounts using wish lists or price alerts. Build anticipation with early teasers, email campaigns, and wish list features so potential customers include your products in their research phase. Brick-and-mortar retail is expected to grow to approximately $28. 3 trillion by 2030. Brick-and-mortar retail is expected to increase to over $28. 3 trillion by 2030. Even as online shopping grows, in-person retail remains a dominant force. Strengthening your in-store experience through excellent customer service, local promotions, and seamless integration with online options-can help you capture a larger share of the spending that still happens face-to-face. Gift cards ranked as the most popular planned purchase. Gift card purchases continue to rise, with 46% of baby boomers naming them as their top planned holiday purchase. This marks a shift toward flexible, practical gifting options that allow recipients to choose their own items which reflects consumers’ focus on value and convenience amid economic uncertainty. Offering branded or customizable gift cards can boost end-of-year sales, attract new customers, and encourage repeat visits after the holidays. Consider promoting gift cards as an easy, stress-free option for last-minute shoppers both in-store and online. Cyber Monday is forecasted to outperform Black Friday, with revenues forecasted to exceed 13 billion. While many businesses plan to include online sales as part of their Black Friday marketing strategies, Cyber Monday is, again, expected to outperform Black Friday sales. This is because Cyber Monday has earned its reputation for online holiday deals. However, with more shoppers still choosing to make online purchases this holiday season, the right deal could convince your audience to purchase on Black Friday instead of Cyber Monday, so you must perform the right research to see what your competitors are planning. Instead of focusing all your efforts on a single day, plan promotions that span the entire weekend or even the full week to keep momentum going. AI chatbots save retailers over 5, 000 hours of customer support time during November. Online retailers using AI-powered chatbots save over 5, 000 hours of customer support time during November alone: the equivalent of 213 workdays. These virtual assistants help manage the surge in inquiries during peak shopping periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Integrating AI chatbots can significantly reduce staff workload while improving response times and customer satisfaction. Automating routine questions frees your team to focus on complex issues and high-value interactions-helping your business maintain service quality during the holiday rush. Mobile purchases accounted for more than half of all online sales. Smartphones drove 55% of online sales on Black Friday in 2024, underscoring the importance of having a mobile-friendly website and checkout process. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on the majority of online shoppers. Test your pages, checkout forms, and loading times well before the holiday rush. Get ready for Black Friday with more tips from the BBB Black Friday is considered the most important retail day of the year and is a huge opportunity for small businesses to increase their sales and gain new customers. You can take advantage of the right approach and create a profitable holiday. BBB is a nonprofit, business-supported organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Most BBB services to consumers are free of charge. BBB provides objective advice, free BBB Business Profiles on more than 5. 3 million companies, 11, 000 charity reviews, dispute resolution services, alerts and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. Visit bbb. org for more information. BBB Serving Central East Texas was founded in 1985 and serves 19 counties.
https://tylerpaper.com/2025/11/26/bbb-must-know-trends-for-black-friday-2025-small-business-edition/

Houstonians can no longer rent scooters late at night

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In a significant blow to a booming scooter rental industry, the Houston City Council on Wednesday enacted a curfew on “micromobility devices” from 8 p. m. to 4 a. m. across the city. “This has been a challenge in the downtown area for some time,” said council member Joaquin Martinez, who represents the area. “We’ve seen a lot of joyriding in downtown when it comes to scooters letter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox. “Personally owned vehicles” are exempt from the curfew “for certain commuting purposes,” according to the agenda item. The curfew applies to both electric and foot-powered scooters. The measure also bans rentals from tents and other “temporary structures” a common tactic by popup vendors. While the new regulations represent a walkback from what was initially proposed as a full ban in the central urban core, the scooter rental industry has previously expressed consternation about a curfew at night the busiest hours for the business. “It’s technically the safest time to operate because there’s less cars in the road there’s less pedestrians so if safety is a concern, that’s typically better for scooter rental because there’s less traffic,” Abraham Levitz, co-owner of scooter rental business EYRD, told Houston Public Media in August. “It’s very hot here in Houston and very humid, so the reason why you see a lot of people riding at night as well is because it’s a lot more comfortable to be outside.” According to a coalition of scooter rental companies that advocated against the ban, total rentals across three leading brick-and-mortar vendors soared from about 86, 000 in 2021 to more than 176, 000 in 2024. According to the city, from 2021 through 2025, 51 riders received citations, about 3, 000 received warnings, five guns were seized and eight people were arrested. Council member Julian Ramirez expressed his intention to tag the item, which would have pushed it back until the next meeting on Dec. 3. But in a rare move, other council members threatened to override his tag, forcing a vote. In a tense exchange with Whitmire, Ramirez said he supported the revised proposal, but council members and residents didn’t have access to details on the curfew and regulation until Friday. “What’s the greater good?” Whitmire said. “You do realize the danger you’re putting those Houstonians to and the disruption of our holiday season. I think that’s a false choice, frankly,” Ramirez responded. “I think transparency is paramount in government.” After a 15-minute recess, Ramirez withdrew his tag with the understanding that a committee meeting would be held in early December for further public engagement followed by potential amendments. He ultimately voted in favor of the item, along with 11 other council members and the mayor. The nighttime ban might not be the last action on scooters in the downtown area. Council member Twila Carter expressed support for a full ban in the central urban core, while Martinez expressed support for a city-contracted vendor “that could also ensure that we could still have micromobility within downtown.”.
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/city-of-houston/2025/11/19/536590/scooter-curfew-houston-city-council-rentals/

High-Flying Ahi

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My younger brother used to have a pan of kalbi fries whenever we got together with friends. Like the good older sister I am, I never paid attention to where they came from. All I remember is that a friend’s dad made them. I assumed he meant his friend’s dad cooked it at home for fun.

Years later, I found out that the friend’s dad was Leroy Melchor, owner of the popular Mililani food truck Flyin’ Ahi. Even better, he now has a brick-and-mortar location in Kaneohe, open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

But for a true taste of what the business offers, you’ll want to visit the food truck parked at Mililani Tech Park. It operates from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

The food truck’s menu hasn’t changed much over the years, but Melchor’s love for making fresh, delicious food continues to grow. At both locations, you’ll find fan favorites like the Korean fried chicken plate ($15) and the ahi katsu plate ($16), both served with rice, tossed salad, and potato mac salad. You can also add a side of poke for an additional $4.

The teri burger with fries ($12) is a charbroiled teriyaki deluxe with cheese. For the ultimate meal, upgrade your fries to kalbi fries for $5 more.

If fries are your main craving, go for the tsunami fries ($6), seasoned with Cajun spices and furikake, then topped with wasabi ranch. Or try the bestselling kalbi fries ($14), piled high with boneless marinated kalbi.

If you’re in the mood for fish, order your choice of fresh ahi — spicy, shoyu, or lime — for the perfect poke plate ($16). Other seafood favorites include fish and chips ($14), fish tacos ($13) stuffed with ahi katsu, cabbage slaw, and wasabi ranch, or the grilled ahi plate ($16) with your choice of garlic, shoyu butter, ginger scallion, or misoyaki.

Be sure to follow @flyinahi on Instagram for daily specials like blackened ahi salad, HI-style smoked meat, and garlic ahi belly.

Whether you’re on the Windward side or visiting the original food truck, get there early before the ahi flies off the shelves.

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**Flyin’ Ahi Mililani Tech Park**
200 Akamainui St., Mililani
Instagram: [@flyinahi](https://www.instagram.com/flyinahi/)
**How to order:** In person
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/10/16/food/high-flying-ahi/