Mat-Su businesses get PFD windfall

MAT-SU - Please forgive store clerks if they are humming a few bars of "Jingle Bells" this week.

No, it is not time for Yuletide cheer. And egg nog has not even hit the store shelves yet. But make no mistake about it - Wednesday, Oct. 4 was officially Christmas for local retailers.

That's because people all around the Valley were looking to spend $1,963.86, the amount of their permanent fund dividend check that was direct-deposited into their bank accounts.

"It is a huge boost for our economy, that's for sure," said Ruth Burkhart, who was dealing with customer after customer at Town and Country Home Furnishings the day after the dividend checks were issued. "The money is here again."

Stores were packed tighter than on Christmas Eve as customers with money to burn eyed big-ticket items. For retailers with large items, October far surpasses December in terms of sales.

"We absolutely notice an increase of customers in October because of the dividends," said Greg Bailey of Tony Chevrolet in Wasilla.

Big-ticket items such as vehicles, vacation plans and computers fly off store shelves during the first week of October. Customers say they plan their entire winters around receiving the money each year.

"That is our vacation money," Julie Fleery said.

This year, Fleery is taking advantage of the numerous travel packages offered through PFD deals. She is taking her grandmother, mother and daughter to Hawaii with one PFD, making a four-generation vacation.

"How many times do you get to do that?" she asked. "And how many times can you do it on the state's dime?"

Thomas Gilmer is looking to get on the information superhighway, thanks to the dividend check.

"I've been looking at a computer for a while now, but they are so expensive," Gilmer said. "I guess with my dividend, it makes it a little more affordable for me. I wouldn't be buying one if not for the PFD."

Retailers love that attitude, because it makes the place green, as in money.

"It has been absolute chaos in here today," Burkhart said the day after dividends were direct-deposited. "The money belongs to the people, and they are happy about getting it."

Retailers usually start to see harbingers of the dividends in August and September. That's when customers, knowing the money will be in the bank in October, start their window-shopping and planning.

"Most of the business of dividends is already done for us," Bailey said. "People come in and shop before they get the dividends - usually when they know the amount. They have everything ready and when the money finally gets here, they finish the process."

Burkhart said she sees much of the same thing at Town and Country Home Furnishings.

"I usually see people two or three times, doing their pre-dividend shopping," Burkhart said. "They see things they want and then they go ahead and buy them once the checks come."

Almost every business benefits from the dividend program, but retailers dealing in expensive items usually see the greatest boost.

"I'm going to buy a snowmachine, and I've been waiting until my dividend got here," George Price said. "I think a lot of people use their dividend to buy things that they normally wouldn't be able to. The smaller priced things you can buy if you save your money. But I probably wouldn't be putting the down payment on the snowmachine without the dividend. It makes really expensive things more attainable, I think."