Eureka Springs biz gets "The Late Show" bump
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Vintage Jewelry on Spring Street in Eureka Springs, Ark. Photo: courtesy Clyde Leach
If you watch "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” you may have seen a shoutout for Vintage Jewelry in Eureka Springs a couple of weeks ago.
- It was part of the #ColbertSmallBizBump segment intended to give small businesses around the country some free publicity.
Why it matters: Small retail businesses already face challenges, as they compete with big box stores, but the pandemic exacerbated these as shoppers moved to buy more online.
- Vintage Jewelry owner, Clyde Leach, tells Axios his business was down 60%–65% in 2020 and down 30%–35% this year, compared to 2019.
Flashback: Leach used to be in the jewelry manufacturing business, but has been dealing exclusively in vintage stock for about 12 years.
What they're saying: Leach didn't know about the shout-out and just happened to be watching the show that night.
- One of his clients submitted the store to "The Late Show," he says.
The bottom line: The bump may not have translated into direct dollars, at least not yet. Leach says he's been contacted by many of his return customers, and his web traffic is up.
- He usually sees 30–40 Google searches over a two-week period or so, but it's jumped to more than 2,000 since the Nov. 29 show.
