CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-area businesses say they are banking on the holidays to save them this year more than in years past. Between supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and a year that wasn’t quite the return to normal we’d all hoped, business owners say the next few weeks could be boom or bust.

Most retailers rely on the holidays to make a profit, but local businesses have said this year, in some cases, they need the holidays just to break even.