Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The excitement continues to ramp up across Western New York for the playoffs, as the Buffalo Bills get set to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday afternoon in the AFC Wild Card Round at Highmark Stadium.
As people get ready for Sunday's playoff opener for the Bills, one of the stops many members of "Bills Mafia" have been making it to local retail stores that offer Bills merchandise and other Buffalo Football related items. And local businesses are sharing in the excitement of the weekend ahead.
"The holiday season is always a big bump in sales and retail sales, but something special happens when the Bills make the playoffs, and not just the playoffs," said Nathan Mroz, owner of the BFLO Store. "When you talk about another AFC East title, and not just a title, we're talking about, really, a dynasty now with four-straight division titles. That's always great for business not just for our store here, but also in the region. I think everybody, economically speaking, really benefits when the Bills do well."
"I think almost the fan base, there was like a stress release of winning that division after a pretty long and grueling season for everybody, kind of stressful season," added David Gram, co-owner of Store716 in Depew. "I think everybody exhaled a little bit and were pretty excited for the playoffs now. So it's been pretty exciting here, pretty busy here at the store."
In-person activity for stores throughout the region has been constant, but plenty of the hubbub has also been taking place with online sales since Buffalo's win over the Dolphins late Sunday night.
"Almost immediately, our online sales had a big bump," Mroz said. "Even before we opened the doors on Monday, online had a big bump in sales, and it's always interesting to see where those sales are going all over the country, and even parts of Canada, we ship to Canada as well. I think the big reason for that is also before the [playoff] game, people want to get some gear and make sure they lock in their gear when they shop online. We also have the curbside pickup option as well. So that was a big spike Monday."
Meanwhile, the in store business has been flooded with people since Monday, which included local residents and those even returning home from South Florida.
"Even on Tuesday, people were coming back from the game in Miami, and a lot of people were coming in - some in shorts and flip flops - coming right off the plane. But where was their first stop? The BFLO Store. It's always great to see that," Mroz said that.
For Gram has the folks at Store716, they focus primarily on custom made Bills and Buffalo Football apparel, and says the demand for customized gear has been high.
"We released a shirt after the victory Sunday night to celebrate the division championship, and that has been very popular. We've sold more than 3,000 of those," Gram said. "We're working on still finishing up the printing and getting them all shipped out. Hopefully we get them all done and out tonight so people have them before the weekend."
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With the weather expected to be on the chillier and wintry side of things, the demand for warm Bills items has been especially noticeable. And it's not just the newest and latest warmer items.
"The Starter jackets have been really popular. It's that 90s style, but it's all back now. Everything that's old is new again, of course, and a lot of the 90s style is really trending right now, not just in the world of sports, but just in general. A lot of that retro stuff is coming back, so a lot of those items are selling well," Mroz explained. "We also just got to restock those Alpha Industry jackets that, of course, we all know Josh Allen wore last year in that famous post with New Era. So a really cool collection that we just brought back in, it just was restocked.
"Some of the items too, the Tommy Hilfiger items, because it's not just the warm gear, but it's also fashionable. People want to look good and feel good in the stadium. Got some really cool new BFLO Store items, as well as the Tommy Hilfiger Buffalo Bills Sherpa crewneck, those are some of the cool, more exclusive custom items that we carry in the stores."
Many local retailers that sell Bills and Buffalo Football related items often have a wide variety of items flying off the shelves over the course of the year, not just the football season. This includes apparel like clothing, hats and even shoes, but it also includes all that the most diehard Bills fans would need for any at-home party or tailgate.
"What we have is a lot of stuff for people who have parties at home and stuff. We have different platters and chips and dip bowls, and all kinds of Buffalo Football branded home stuff that people are using for parties and everything else you can think of," Gram said. "There's been a lot of things people have been after here."
"Even for homes, homes and businesses that want to have a little spice of Bills at their residence or their business - the Buffalo Bills flags have been doing very well, and even the garden flags, some of the yard signs. Decals, things like that, people love to put it on their cars this time of year too," Mroz added. "Anything Bills on it really is doing very well: Tailgate parties, Buffalo Bills pint glasses, at home parties, everything Bills is selling right now."
Every year just before the Bills season gets started, local businesses start to see a significant influx of fans purchasing a number of Bills-related items, particularly newer items to wear or utilize during the course of the campaign. Sales during the months of August and September really start to increase substantially during Bills training camp and into the preseason.
While pre-season rush for Bills gear may see more people looking for the freshest gear or newest apparel, there is a nice correlation between between that period and the pre-playoff rush for when the games matter most.
"What's interesting from a business perspective in the playoff rush, these games happen in a week turnaround. That's a very fast turnaround for businesses like us to get things new and out. Everybody wants something before the next game, so speed is really a big benefit of what we can give the people here. Everybody's looking for stuff now, so that's a real difference between [now and] before the season," Gram said.
"January can either be a huge month or a very slow month, and a lot of that has to do with if the Bills make the playoffs. Now that they're in, it's not just let's get this gear or whatever, you also have a tremendous amount of out-of-towners coming in for the game," Mroz added. "While locals have been supporting us consistently, there's also a big flux of out-of-towners that may be from all over the country, because Bills fans are everywhere. They come home for this game, they may live and work out of town, but for this, you have a lot of people coming in for this game that are going to need cold weather here. That's the biggest thing too with getting some of that new gear.
"Really this weekend, it'll be like the day before Christmas. Very busy, very energetic, but a very positive vibe."