Elena White was bracing for the Canada Post strike weeks before it happened, alerting customers and brainstorming backup plans as she worried about what it could mean for her business.
With the strike now on its fourth day, White said there’s already been a decline in online sales at her Queen West card and gift shop, Outer Layer.
“The longer it goes on, I think people just have a vague sense that things are bad out there. I better not make an order right now,” she told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Monday.
With Black Friday less than two weeks away and no end in sight for the negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, she’s not the only small business owner in Toronto seeing less online orders since the strike took off.
“On Saturday we got one [order]. Normally we get more,” said Eugene Tam, who owns Play De Record, a vinyl record store on Spadina.
WATCH | Small Toronto businesses say they’re already losing sales:
White and Tam say they’ve been using alternative delivery modes like Chit Chats or Trexity, but they worry customers don’t know about these other alternatives and could shy away from ordering all together while the strike continues.
“They might go to the nearby store. So we might lose sales on that. So that’s my worry,” Tam said.
And the alternatives can often mean more expensive deliveries for parcels. White, who says roughly a quarter of her sales are online, is trying to avoid that being a barrier for customers.
“I don’t want to discourage them from buying. So I, you know, eat the extra cost. But that is the reality right now. “
Tough timing
Unlike the rotating strikes that Canada Post held in 2018, this strike could potentially hurt businesses more, as people’s shopping habits have changed.
“Thanks to COVID a few years ago, we all learned the joys of buying online,” said Marvin Ryder, an associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at McMaster University.
“Lots and lots and lots of small businesses now see a significant chunk of their revenue coming from selling parcels, shipping parcels,” he said.
The 2018 strike ended with the government ordering postal workers back to work. What those two strikes do have in common so far is their timing — right before the holiday season.
“Anything that you can do to disrupt that is going to get a lot more attention,” said Ryder, adding that retail stores typically earn nearly half of their annual revenue this time of year.
WATCH | Business owner says he’s looking at losing $10K a day in online sales:
“Clearly what the union is trying to do is say to Canada Post, ‘you don’t want to upset those users, give us what we want.'”
New day of negotiations
The two sides were back at the negotiating table Monday, joined by a newly appointed federal mediator meant to help move talks along.
“We remain committed to reaching new agreements at the bargaining table, and not through arbitration,” said Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu in a statement Monday.
Canada Post employees on the picket lines in Toronto on Monday, as the strike kicks off its fourth day. (CBC News)
Mark Lubinski, president of the Toronto Local Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said Canada Post is “a dirty negotiator,” as they still won’t meet their demands, which include a wage increase and safer working conditions.
“We want to be on the job, we want to be delivering their mail today,” he said in an interview on the picket line Monday, adding he feels for small businesses who are feeling the impact.
“It’s not us that’s stealing Christmas, it’s Canada Post stealing it.”