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Shoppers Hit Home Stretch |
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Wednesday, 23 December 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — As Christmas draws closer, area retailers say they are seeing steady streams of customers entering their stores.
“Business has been steady and busy at times,” St. Marys Sears Store owner Ted Yewey said. “So we feel pretty good about the season so far.”
Flat-panel televisions, appliances and tools are among the hot items customers are buying. Yewey said tools are popular given the state of the economy.
“A lot of people are now do-it-yourself people rather than taking it someplace and getting it fixed,” Yewey said. “They are buying the tools and things that will help them get done what they need to get done.”
Garage door openers also have been hot items this year. Yewey said grown children often buy the devices for their elderly parents.
“It makes a nice gift for older parents,” Yewey said.
Sales for the holiday season are edging a little more than last year at the store. Yewey said aggressive pricing on televisions and appliances has helped.
“People are careful about what they are buying,” Yewey said. “There is a lot of competition with prices and I know Sears, as well as other retailers, are really marking things down considerably to try and entice customers.”
The store will close at 5 p.m. Christmas Eve and will reopen at its regular time Saturday. Yewey encouraged shoppers who want to return items to make sure they have a receipt.
“In order to return they must have a receipt,” Yewey said. “It needs to be an item that was purchased in the store or an item that we sell in order to do that. Receipts are essential.”
At Kmart, store manager Rick Folz said shoppers are keeping employees busy in the days leading up to Christmas. Folz said, despite the economy, sales this year are on track with 2008.
“We are seeing a lot of flat-panel TVs and a lot of UNO Moo games,” Folz said. “We have sold a lot of radio-controlled cars and trucks — that’s probably our biggest ones.”
Kmart is scheduled to be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Christmas Eve. The store will reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 February 2010 )
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