What a year 2020 has been! The coronavirus dominated the news and our newsfeeds for 10 months of the year. With almost 25,000 unique pageviews, the COVID-19 Resources post on alabamaretail.org far exceeded the reach of anything else on our website.

On the final day of each year, we look back at our top posts, profiles, events and videos of the year across Alabama Retail’s website and social media accounts. This year is no different, although perhaps more than ever we look forward to the next year! Retail is ready for 2021.

TOP EVENT AND FACEBOOK POST OF 2020

 

While many 2020 social posts related to the pandemic, Alabama Retail’s top social post involved an event that happens every year – the back-to-school sales tax holiday. Almost 300 shared a June 26 Facebook post about the July tax holiday. The total reach was more than 27,000.

Alabama Restaurant Week also scored as a top event in 2020 with Classic on Noble in Anniston earning the top spot for a featured member on Facebook this year.

HEROES OF 2020 AND TOP INSTAGRAM POST

The superhuman efforts of Alabama’s grocers during the pandemic earned the top post on our Shop Alabama Instagram account. The March 25 four-picture post featured Calvin Rowell, produce manager at Wright’s Market in Opelika; Christina Coates and Nancy Workman of Gregerson Foods, doing business as Cash Saver in Etowah and Calhoun counties; and Bob Graham, meat department manager at Piggly Wiggly Tuscaloosa County.

A heartfelt letter from former Alabama Retail Association chairman and current Alabama Retail Comp trustee George Wilder on April 11 summarized what retailers statewide wanted to say to local and state officials about small business’s ability to operate safely during the pandemic. George is our hero! With 5,692 unique pageviews on our website and an organic reach of more than 7,000 on Facebook, his words also were among our most read communications of 2020.

On March 22, just a week into offering curbside and take-out service only, Adam and Angela Long of Jim Bob’s Chicken Fingers in Alexander City expressed the gratitude of restaurants statewide to their communities and customers.

TOPS ON LINKEDIN

“Shopping small is good for the local economy,” Foster Brooks of Brooks & Collier in Huntsville explained in our top post on Linked In for 2020. “You are shopping with your neighbors. We always are going to take care of the customer.” The cover story for the November issue of Alabama Retailer magazine also made the Top 10 Facebook posts of 2020.

TOP VIDEOS

Most years our top videos relate to the annual Alabama Retail Day luncheon and awards. While there was no physical gathering in 2020, we celebrated Retail Day nonetheless with a video featuring the governor’s statewide proclamation. The Oct. 13 video reached the furthest of any in 2020.

Other top videos included our May 7 salute to Moms featuring the mothers associated with members Please Reply, Marks Interiors: La-Z-Boy Gulf Coast, Pollman’s Bake Shops, Pants Store, Peach Park, Mural City Coffee Co., Taylor Made Designs, The Cook Store, M&F Casuals and Gregerson Foods: CashSaver Food Store.

On the busiest shopping week of the year, we shared a video by George Jones at Snoozy’s Kids in Mountain Brook that summed up the importance of shopping local. If you’ve never watched a George Jones video, watch this!

TOP TWEET

It is appropriate that our top tweet of 2020 relates to a story that is coming in 2021. Jay Welborn of B&W Foods posed Dec. 15 for the February 2020 cover of Alabama Retailer magazine. When we shared a sneak peek on Twitter, the photo at Tuscaloosa’s newest Piggly Wiggly earned more than 8,500 impressions.

FOLLOW ALABAMA RETAIL AND SHOP ALABAMA
In 2021, follow Alabama Retail on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Originally posted at 1:44 p.m. Dec. 30, 2020