Local businesses relying on online sales

Some businesses are changing the way they operate to ensure they can keep their doors open during concerns around the novel coronavirus.

Staff at Almost Famous Popcorn seal up bags of popcorn on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Aaron Scheinblum/KCRG)

For businesses that often rely heavily on walk-in sales, some are adapting to fewer customers in-person and are transitioning to more digital ways of selling.

Bill Rieckhoff, the owner of Almost Famous Popcorn, is making more home deliveries than ever before. The shop in the NewBo district of Cedar Rapids is still open, but the real action has been behind-the-scenes.

“As the COVID-19 came on, we had to make some serious changes out there and we had to make some serious changes in terms of our business,” Rieckhoff said.

The changes are not related to how staff members are preparing the product- instead, it focuses on different ways to get their product to the consumer.

The key, Rieckhoff says, is online sales.

“The online has really been the saving grace of this crisis,” Rieckhoff said. “People are at home, they’re shopping, and it’s been really cool to watch the response.”