Ina lagging economy, local merchants are surprised to find business better than usual.
"Sales have been brisk," said Anthony Ola, who owns two shoe stores in Greenwood. "We've exceeded past sales and our expectations. With all the world like it is, we didn't expect it."
On Saturday, customers waiting to be checked out lined up around the register at Anthony's Shoes, Ola's store on Park Avenue. Some of them were buying what Ola calls "big ticket items," boots and dress shoes.
Ola and other retailers attribute the large sales figures to the diminished number of people traveling over Thanksgiving.
"Today we had a very strong day," said Jim Russell, who owns Stein Jewelry in Greenwood. "It's normally not this big, but more people stayed in town and shopped."
Bo Shell, general manager of Wal-Mart agrees, but he said Wal-Mart profited from the sunny weather over the weekend.
"Last year, rain and inclement weather set us back," Shell said. "We had a hard time getting things inside."
This year they unloaded the merchandise earlier and set everything up before the customers arrived.
The best selling item was the Apex DVD player, which was on sale, Shell said.
But the quickest to go was a replica doll of Bob the Builder, a PBS cartoon. Shell said the $5 dolls sold out in 20 minutes.
The electronics department in Wal-Mart also sold a lot of televisions, on sale and at regular prices.
"TV sales have been phenomenal this year because people are staying at home," Shell said.
Sales aren't going through the roof for everyone, but the days after Thanksgiving have boosted morale for some owners. For Phil Ellis, who owns Phil's Squire Shoppe, breaking even this week isn't bad.
"We started off slow in the first half of this week and almost recovered on Friday and Saturday," said Ellis.
