A teacher stuck at home during the height of the pandemic saw the proliferation of yard signs and decided to get in on a piece of the action.

COVID-19 has changed the way we shop

Shatamara Davis trekked across Memphis at night until the wee hours of the morning with a car full of oversized alphabets. She erected yard signs with celebratory messages for birthdays, anniversaries and graduations as shelter-at-home orders shifted the way society throws a party.

“We’re busy every weekend,” said Davis, the owner of Prissy and Preppy Yard Cards and Signs and a reading instructor at American Way Middle School. “It took off faster than we thought it would. We’re always adding signs to our inventory. They’ve taken up our whole attic. They’re huge!”

Yard signs are rising across the country as families pivot to celebrate important events while socially distancing, but that doesn’t mean business is great for all sign companies.

Signs Now creates signs for weddings and smaller events, but a good bit of its business relies on bigger clients. It typically makes signs for events at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, golf tournaments and charity fundraisers.

COVID-19 has put an end to a lot of such gatherings with large crowds.

“We didn’t get any of those this year,” said Adrian Shane, operational manager of Signs Now at 4945 American Way. “I wouldn’t say business is good. I’d say we’ve probably broken even – but we didn’t have to lay anybody off.”

The need for directional and informational signs helped fill the gap.

After shelter-at-home guidelines became the norm, Signs Now crafted signs for funerals, for grocers and for the Memphis Area Transit Authority. It did all the municipal signs for the City of Germantown.

The signs provided instructions on social distancing and mask-wearing. A sign at a local Kroger offered: “Stop. Mask Required. Local ordinances require face coverings to be worn.”

“There’s a whole new branch of signage industry that’s going on because of COVID,” Shane said.

Signs Now also has made “floor graphics,” which tell customers where to stand to be six feet apart from other customers. The signs have a two- to five-year durability or lifespan, Shane said.

While he doesn’t expect the demand for signs to taper off soon, he said eventually everyone will have the signs they need.

“It’s going to get saturated. Sooner or later, everyone is going to have their signs – unless they get a different (health department) mandate,” Shane said.

FastSigns International Inc., with two locations in Memphis, issued a press release in mid-August to report strong growth year-to-date in 2020.

The growth included 12 new franchise agreements since March 1. The company attributed its growth to its centers being deemed essential businesses during the pandemic and to the pivoting of their services.

”We’re incredibly proud of how our franchisees adapted to the changing climate by tapping into the diverse product range we offer so they could fulfill the unique needs of their customers,” Mark Jameson with FastSigns’ franchise support and development department said. “Throughout the pandemic, our franchisees have continued to manufacture critical signage, plexiglass shields and more to help hospitals, local governments and businesses communicate important health and safety information and to protect communities.”

While larger companies construct their own signs, Davis at Prissy and Preppy Yard Cards and Signs buys her signs from vendors. Her rental and set-up services start at $85. She visits about six yards a night each weekend and returns the following day to pick up the signs.

Her 15-year-old daughter, Jasmyn Lyons, a Bartlett High student, cleans them up and places them in the attic for retrieval on another weekend.

“It’s my first job ever,” said Jasmyn, an aspiring nurse. “I’ve learned to be aware and pay more attention. You can’t forget a letter.”

Steven Davis, Davis’ husband, works at a railroad but says doing the side sign gig with his family is not a huge drain on his energy.

“It’s more than a job,” he said as he helped keep yard card orders separated in the back of the family’s gray Toyota van. “We bring a lot of joy to people.”

Kathy James, a 911 dispatcher who celebrated her 50th birthday in August, peeked through her blinds as the Davis family layered letters with musical notes on cards under a bright moon. She opened her door, but the Davis’ don’t like an audience.

“Not yet,” said Shatamara Davis, waving her back.

After the Davis’ pulled away, James exploded onto her yard. She squealed. Then snapped photos.

The following day, she held a drive-by/pull-up party for herself.

“I’ve had grandma make a cake, but I’d never had a party party. I picked the pandemic year for one,” Davis said. “It made me feel special to be able to do something at a time like this, even if we weren’t hugging on each other.

“I haven’t seen my family in months,” she said. “This was our first foray into maybe spending some time with one another.”

Amanda Higgs also started her 901 Yard Party Signs business after the pandemic hit the Mid-South. She struck upon the idea of doing signs after her gourmet cooking demonstration business “crashed” with COVID-19.

She does 30 to 35 signs a week.

“It’s been crazy ever since. Crazy,” Higgs said.

As for the future of the yard sign business, Higgs predicts the pandemic will have a lasting impact on how some but not all people celebrate. She believes drive-by and pull-up parties are here to stay.

“I can’t tell you how many parents have said to me, ‘I’m never throwing a child’s party again,’” Higgs said.