Post-holiday sales buoy small stores

December 29, 2006

BY DIMITRA LAVRAKAS/Frontiersman

MAT-SU - It was the dance of shoppers. Friends, families and single folks carted up and down the aisles of local stores Tuesday, peering at and picking over the post-holiday merchandise on tables, like so many eagles perusing a salmon run.

Radio news reported that retailers hoped to make up for a season that slumped because of warm weather that, in turn, depressed sales of boots and winter coats.

There were no coats or boots at Home Depot. There were shoppers - but not many of them visible.

The morning started out slowly, but picked up by midday, cashier Rebecca Kruse said.

&#8220People arrived late and they bought Christmas items for next Christmas,” Kruse said.

A supervisor commented it was a better day, profit-wise, than the same day a week ago.

Fred Meyer was busy, again, with shoppers zeroing in on post-Christmas sales, but large stores all had deep discounts on Christmas Eve, and there weren't a lot of Christmas items left.

It was the smaller, locally owned stores that seemed to have thrived this season.

As customers hustled in and out of All I Saw Cookware in the Meta Rose Square, a store for discriminating cooks, owner Susan Nyberg stood by the counter to talk about how the year's biggest sale was progressing.

&#8220It's very busy. This is the annual sale, and it's something people wait all year for,” she said. &#8220People come in to check and see if what they want is still here, and then they get it at this sale,” she said. &#8220We have a very loyal customer base.”

Also owner of Mimi's Closet, across the hall from All I Saw, Nyberg reiterated that shoppers had their eyes on certain things and waited for the sale to buy.

She experienced a small jump in gift card sales, she said, but can't really track the number.

Others can, however. In a poll done for the National Retail Foundation by Big Research, gift card sales have grown from $18.48 billion in 2005 to $24.81 billion this year, according to The Associated Press.

David Cheezem, owner of Fireside Books in Palmer, said Tuesday that he thinks gift card sales are up by 50 percent from last year.

&#8220But that's your basic on-the-paper-napkin estimate,” he said. &#8220It's a little something they can unwrap, because this year we put them in a little box. I think people have really appreciated that.”

While it was quieter at the bookstore Tuesday than the frantic last-minute shopping that defines the last hours of Christmas Eve, Cheezem said there was a steady stream.

He's pleased after just celebrating his fifth year in business, and he's feeling confident.

&#8220We're on a growing curve, we've been growing every year,” he said.

At the Cottonwood Creek Mall, Urban Vibe manager Un Rudd stood behind a counter while shoppers circled the racks.

&#8220It's been good, but not fantastic,” she said. &#8220But we have sold more gift cards than usual this time.”

Contact Dimitra Lavrakas at 352-2269 or valleylife@frontiersman.com