The thrill of the hunt is a big part of what a growing number of customers love about consignment shops, said three store owners from the region who pride themselves on their cleanliness and sanitizing methods.

Finding high-end merchandise and European labels (some new with tags on them) at a fraction of retail price without going online is simply too good to pass up. And because area outlets and department stores are closing, consignment shops are increasingly becoming people’s new go-to places.

However, consignment stores have experienced their own challenging journeys due to the COVID virus. Like many small, “non-essential” businesses, the State of Connecticut ordered these shops to close at the beginning of the pandemic on March 16 for 10 weeks.

Since reopening, business has been down 45.4 percent at Déjà vu Boutique at 67 West Town St. in Norwich, 30 percent at Baby Go Round at 333 Long Hill Road in Groton and just “a bit” at Pennywise Consignment Shop at 22 Greenmanville Ave. in Mystic. All three business owners said during telephone interviews that they have stayed in touch with customers throughout their ordeals via social media such as Instagram and Facebook, and are thankful for their loyal customers.

Describing business in her 1,950-square-foot store as “very sporadic,” Michelle Falvey of Déjà vu Boutique said she specializes in high-end plus sizes up to 26 for women, but caters to all sizes starting at 0. Her motto: “Big surprises for all sizes.”

The Norwich resident’s collection also includes women’s shoes, sneakers, boots, handbags, jewelry and other accessories.

Falvey said that people want to bring in formal wear and office wear, but because the majority of people are working from home and not going anywhere, shoppers are looking for leggings, comfortable tops, sweatshirts, tunics and sneakers.

“Lifestyles have changed. So have the ways that ladies have dressed. They’re definitely dressed down, no makeup, hair thrown up in a ponytail, sneakers.”

For this reason, she said she is turning to liquidations, closeouts and online auctions/estate sales and “getting away from more of the consignment angle.” This has resulted in many compliments from her customers.

Ana Aiello of Baby Go Round in Groton described business as “slow, but steady” since reopening in June 2020. Because of the pandemic, “there has been a 50 percent increase in athletic wear and a 70 percent decrease in jeans,” because “the girls want to wear the leggings and yoga pants and the boys want to wear the Under Armour and Nike,” said Aiello, who bought Baby Go Round, an already established business in 2017, with her husband Joe after having “surprise twins.”

During the pandemic in September 2020, the Aiellos purchased the building across the street from their original location. About 70 percent of their customer base is made up of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard families.

The East Lyme couple’s 2,000-square-foot store offers clothing for babies and boys and girls under size 10 from mall stores such as Target, Kohls and Gymboree. “After size 10, that’s when our boutique line kicks in,” Ana said, describing the collection as “T.J. Maxx and better” with a lot of European brands for boys up to size 18, girls up to size 16 and small adults. Baby Go Round also sells toys, books, DVDs, bicycles, car seats, strollers and baby furniture.

In addition to accepting consignments, Ana said some of their clothing and accessories are purchased through buyouts, department store liquidations and estate sales; she sometimes buys toys and baby/children’s furniture from closing daycare centers. Only after all the merchandise is washed, disinfected, inspected and checked for recalls are they available for sale, she added.

Lorell Madden has co-owned the 2,000-square-foot Pennywise Consignment Shop with her mother Donna Madden since 1988. They sell upscale women’s accessories and petite, junior and misses sizes starting at 00 and sometimes have plus sizes. They also offer men’s clothing and periodically have “big and tall” sizes. Additionally, Pennywise offers footwear for men and women.

The Stonington resident said they “came back pretty strong,” because when they were closed, they were still posting on Instagram “and people would call us to pay over the phone and pick up curbside.”

A week before reopening, she said they started taking consignments curbside and advertised “a lot.” On opening day, people were waiting in the parking lot. “It was a crazy day,” she said adding that, “It was a very good feeling, because we had no idea what we were going to walk back into. Like, ‘Is everybody going to be scared?’ All these unknowns. So that was very good for us. “Summer in Mystic was obviously not what it normally is, but there were still quite a few people that were day-tripping from in-state that were just driving here from an hour away coming for the day and going home so they didn’t have to stay in a hotel or anything.”

As with the other two consignment shops, Lorell said their customers are not looking for dressy clothes or formal wear, but rather “leisure wear, jeans, sneakers, comfortable clothing that you’re going to wear around the house or out walking.”

The business owners said they are sanitizing and enforcing all the safety protocols, including mask wearing, social distancing and steaming clothes after people have tried them on in their dressing rooms. To accommodate their customers, they are still also offering people the option of viewing merchandise online and picking it up curbside. Occasionally, people ask the owners to shop for them and send photos before they pay for the merchandise.

Additionally, people who have auto-immune conditions or are just nervous about shopping around others because of COVID, can now make shopping appointments when the store is closed.

All three consignment store owners said they become “like family” with many of their customers and serve as their in-store personal shoppers.

“Some ladies have their mind set on certain styles or clothing that they’ll wear, such as no prints, prints, no black, only black or no red,” said Falvey of Deja vu, adding that sometimes she “can find something” that she knows will look “fabulous” on them. Once they try it on, the Groton native said they are often happily surprised, because they never would have thought of wearing such an outfit.

“We have customers that will come in and say, ‘I just need my therapy session.’ They just need a place they can kind of get away and turn their brain off a little bit,” Lorell Madden said.

Also, she said new customers are coming in who want to buy used instead of new to save money. “And we’ve had a lot of people that are just realizing the environmental benefits of not wasting, of things not ending up in landfills.”

Falvey said she is offering large selection of sneakers and is looking for “really cute summer dresses. I think those are going to be a good seller, because as the weather changes and people are allowed to go outdoors, whether it’s just even to eat outdoors, or to a function or event, I think women are going to want to dress up after the last year of dressing down. We are still female,” she said laughing.

Shop locations

Breakout Box:

Baby Go Round

333 Long Hill Rd. in Groton

Phone: 860-446-8174

Déjà vu Boutique

67 West Town St. in Norwich

Phone: 860-383-2326

Pennywise Consignment Shop

22 Greenmanville Ave. in Mystic

860-572-9232