Thomas Breen photo
Ronecia Caserta: Eyeing "whatever's on clearance" on Monday.
Ronecia Caserta walked into EbLens looking for what most customers visiting the Whalley Avenue shoe store are eyeing these days: school-appropriate footwear that doesn’t break the bank.
Caserta was one of a handful of customers browsing the shoe-filled walls of 60 Whalley Ave. midday on Monday, on the hunt for new pairs of shoes for her two kids as they get ready to return to school next week for their first days in first and fourth grades, respectively.
Caserta visited the warehouse-style shoe store a few minutes before Mayor Justin Elicker, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, EbLens Chief Merchant Paul Eusebio, and EbLens Vice President of Store Operations Dan Pierce held a press conference kicking off the latest statewide Sales Tax Free Week.
That means that, between Sunday, Aug. 21 through Saturday, Aug. 27, customers buying clothing and footwear that cost under $100 per item don’t have to pay the state’s 6.35 percent sales tax during that time.
EbLens shoe store at 60 Whalley Ave.
What is Caserta looking for as she tries to figure out which shoes will be the best fit for her young kids as they prepare to go back to school next week?
“Whatever’s on clearance,” she said with a smile, eyeing the shoes’ discount labels as she contemplated which pair to buy.
EbLens Chief Merchant Paul Eusebio (center) with Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz and EbLens VP Dan Pierce.
According to Eusebio, Pierce, and EbLens Sales Associate Nia Roach, that kind bargain-hunting for new back to school shoes is what the shoe store’s employees are hearing over and over again this year, as continued nationwide inflation and supply chain troubles drive up the costs of most household goods — including sneakers.
“Normally these tax break weeks are pleasant surprises at the cash register,” Eusebio said. “This year, more than ever, they’re something our customers are going to anticipate.” He predicted the sales tax free week will be one of the little things that go a long way in helping shoppers save a few bucks as they buy shoes and clothes and bookbags and other essentials for the return to school.
“Everybody wants to look good. Everybody wants to feel good,” he said.
On the wall at EbLens.
He said that a typical pair of new shoes at EbLens is going for somewhere between $80 and $90 these days, he said. That means a customer, if they buy a few pairs of shoes and bags, could save $10 or $15 or $20 across their whole order, thanks to the tax-free discount.
“It’s a tough time for a lot of consumers, because of the challenges that we’ve got with inflation and supply chain issues,” Elicker said during Monday’s presser. He described the sales tax free week at a small bit of help for making ends meet, as well as a “really good way to support local businesses.”
What are the most commonly asked for and purchased shoes at EbLens during this back to school season?
“Something that’s black is most common this type of year because of dress code,” Eusebio said.
Sales staffer Nia Roach appraising her favorite shoes at EbLens: pink New Balance 57/40s.
Sales associate Roach said the same. Students and their parents are looking for anything that’s “easy to match with uniforms,” she said.
Usually that means black or white Adidas or Fila or Puma shoes. Back when she was in middle school at Mauro Sheridan School in Westville, she remembered how imperative it was to have something simple on your feet to go with the school’s uniform.
But even though the black and white shoes are what’s most in demand right now, she said, she’s still most drawn to kicks that offer a bit of color.
Like her favorite shoes on EbLens’ walls, an all-pink pair of New Balance 57/40s.
“I really love the color combinations,” she said as she appraised New Balance’s offerings more broadly.
Roach's colorful Crocs.
She’s a big fan of colorful footwear, she said, as evidenced by the kaleidoscopic Crocs she wore to work on Monday.
Another EbLens staffers Star Wars-themed kicks.
She wasn’t the only EbLens sales associate showing off a bit of idiosyncratic style on their feet Monday.
Another sales staffer, in between talking with this reporter about how “anything black or white” is big right now, showed off her white Star Wars-themed Adidas — with Princess Leia on the left foot, and Darth Vader on the right.
Click on the Facebook Live video below to watch Monday’s press conference in full.