The 2020 Sales Tax Holiday, which starts Friday and runs through Saturday, has some Greenwood merchants eager to sell.
During that period, Mississippi’s 7% sales tax will not be added to the cost of articles of clothing, footwear or school supplies if the sales price of a single item is less than $100.
Most apparel and educational materials qualify for the promotion, but items such as accessories, luggage and wallets do not.
This is the 11th year that the Sales Tax Holiday has been conducted.
Still, some local store owners are unsure what this year’s sales will look like.
Melisa Fincher, owner of Fincher’s Inc., said she cannot even estimate how many customers she will have. She said it all comes down to who visits Howard Street or travels to the city to take advantage of the deal.
“It just depends if people are in town,” she said.
One boost of traffic could come from Saturday’s Bikes, Blues & Bayous. Although registration this year for the bike ride was intentionally halved because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s still about 500 riders — and wallets — coming to the city.
Fincher also mentioned that an important aspect of this weekend will be a sidewalk sale downtown by some of the merchants.
Mike Goldberg, owner of Conerly’s, is hoping for a “very brisk, very busy” weekend.
The pandemic has caused serious financial losses, but this weekend can help, he said.
“We were closed when the state shut us down, and we didn’t have any Easter business,” Goldberg said. “We have got to overcome that, and business has been pretty good since we opened back up.”
nContact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
