Four weeks into the “new normal” where most of our local stores remain closed, some of them are cooking up creative ways to stay in business. From one-on-one online shopping sessions to doorstep drop-offs, sales are still happening and homebound customers are grateful for the diversion — not to mention the chance to support their local favorites. “If you had told me three months ago that I would be doing Facetime shopping, I would have thought it would never work,” says Gayle Herrmann of the Oak boutique in Kensington. “But now I go around the store holding up my phone,” she says. “I show things to customers and see what they’re excited about, and I even decide what size to send them. I basically become their personal shopper.” Indeed, it’s the “personal” part that everyone seems to appreciate right now. You certainly don’t get that from an Amazon order. “We’re getting such nice compliments from customers,” says Toy Castle owner Brian Mack, who started offering home delivery last week. “It feels good during this otherwise very difficult situation.” So what kind of stuff are local people buying right now? Most of it seems to fall into four categories:

  • Cozy clothes that are presentable enough for a Zoom session. “At first no one wanted to buy new clothes, but now that’s starting to change,” says Hanna Avissar Balkin of Hanna’s Connection. “People are beginning to socialize online, or do happy hour outdoors with social distancing.” Trendy loungewear by PJ Salvage is a bestseller at Occasions, while Scout & Molly’s in North Bethesda is selling tons of graphic T-shirts with inspirational sayings. Also: baseball caps that are cute enough to cover up bad hair and grey roots. “If you’ve got a conference call, you can give your hair a break and just pop that hat right on,” says owner Wendy Brack Fritz.
  • Care packages. Some people are buying gifts for themselves, others for their friends and employees. Bath and body products are selling fast at The Cottage Monet in Rockville Town Square — “especially those that smell like the sea,” says owner Caya Cagri. Occasions, with stores in Potomac and Kentlands, has been dropping lots of cellophane-wrapped gifts on local doorsteps. “Babies are still being born, birthdays are still being had,” says owner Stephanie Menick. “And thank-you gifts are big right now. We’re wrapping up soaps, lotions, hand sanitizers, chocolate-covered pretzels. Depending on the situation, we’ll throw in kids’ games or dog treats.”
  • Puzzles are having a moment. Toy Castle is delivering tons of them, but young families aren’t the only ones buying. Wildwood’s Red Orchard gift shop is dropping them off all over town. “Right now, puzzles are about 60 percent of our business,” says co-owner John Liberty. “Man, it’s a lot of puzzles. But it makes sense. It’s something for people to do when they’re stuck at home.”
  • Masks — if you can get them. Rayna Badwey Matz, owner of R Boutique, started ordering maks a few weeks ago and can hardly keep up with the demand. “As soon as I post them on my website, they’re gone within hours,” she says. Hanna’s Connection just got its first mask shipments and is throwing them in free with every order. Anja Caldwell, owner of FiberArt Studio in Potomac Village, is making her own masks and has posted an online tutorial on how to do it.