NEW YORK — After a wearying nearly two years of the pandemic, independent retailers are cautiously hoping their holiday seasons will be bright, despite the challenges this year ranging from supply chain snags to shortages of hot holiday items.

Many businesses ordered decorations, toys, stocking stuffers and other items well in advance this year and have turned to smaller vendors to fill in any gaps in their inventory. They’ve reached out directly to customers on social media. And they’re hoping that shortages at bigger stores stemming from supply chain issues this year will lead to a burst of last-minute shopping in their stores.

So far, worries about omicron and rising cases haven’t made a measurable dent on holiday shopping. For the week that ended Dec. 18, store traffic was up nearly 20% from a year earlier, though down 23% from the same week in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Sensormatic Solutions. But there’s still time to shop.

Small retailers are hoping they can capture some of the expected growth in holiday sales. The holiday shopping season is crucial because it can account for 20% or more of annual sales for retailers, and boosts store traffic and new customers. The National Retail Federation predicts a sales increase of 8.5% to 10.5% for all of November and December, after 8% growth in those months in 2020.

That’s put pressure on the global supply chain, leaving business owners scrambling to stock up on the products consumers want.

Last December, vendors warned Teresa Pries that shipping costs would be on the rise. So Pries, owner of two Revival 23 clothing and gift boutiques in Fresno and Clovis, California, took a gamble for this year: She ordered about four times what she normally would before the price increases kicked in. She also rented storage units for the first time to have room for the extra inventory.

“It’s a little scary being a small business investing so heavily, but it has really paid off, our customers are thrilled,” she said. “We thought OK, let’s go for it. It’s probably one of the best business decisions we had. Scary but good.”

That gamble has paid off big time for Pries; her sales are up 90% compared with the same period last year. Now, her worry is less whether she bought too much, but the fact that she’s selling out of items.

Businesses are hoping for a surge during the last few days before Christmas.

Guido Campello, co-CEO of Journelle, operates four lingerie stores, three in New York City and one in Chicago. Journelle also has its own lingerie line. They stocked up about 35% more for the holidays. So far it has paid off, with sales up 30% over the Black Friday shopping weekend compared with a year ago.

While sellouts are always an issue at the last minute, Campello says they’re putting the word out they’ll have plenty of offerings. The store’s social advertising leading up to Christmas is communicating: “We have stock, we’ve got you covered.”