With flu season on the way and no vaccine for the coronavirus yet in sight, it’s understandable why shoppers may be feeling wary of stepping into a crowded store to do their holiday shopping this year. It’s up to retailers to come up with creative ways of making shoppers feel safe this year, and one retailer in Greensboro, N.C. is offering a new way to shop her boutique: private shopping by appointment.

“The whole idea of the private shopping experience is to give you time all by yourself in the store with one-on-one help to get your holiday shopping done, treat yourself, or just browse all our new arrivals for the holiday season,” Kathryn Hashemi, owner of Just Be boutique wrote in an email to her customers.

A link in the email led shoppers to site where they could sign up for 30-minute shopping appointment starting the beginning of November all the way through Dec. 22.

“We really want to encourage this opportunity if you don’t feel comfortable shopping in crowds this year,” Hashemi wrote.

What new holiday shopping services or opportunities is your store providing this year? If you have a unique idea you’d like to share with the Gifts & Decorative Accessories team, be sure to shoot an email to aherring@giftsanddec.com.