A downturn economy did little to change traffic through Athens businesses this holiday season, though store owners did report more frugal spending patterns.
Although final numbers for December don't come out until February
overall Athens appears to have had a decent shopping season said Larry Payne, the Membership Services Coordinator for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.
I think the economy is slow and people are watching their money but that could help Athens because maybe people are shopping locally instead of driving to Parkersburg or Columbus to shop
Payne said.
Mountain Laurel Gifts, 25 S. Court St., didn't have a large drop in shoppers compared with previous shopping seasons, said Pam Rollins, owner of the store. However, shoppers aren't spending as much, she added.
We have a lot of loyal local shoppers
but people are spending less than last year
Rollins said.
Artifacts Gallery, 2 W. State St., had weaker sales the last few months but average sales during the holiday shopping season, said Ashley Hansford, manager of Artifacts Gallery. Customers bought many of the store's popular items such as T-shirts and jewelry.
College Book Store, 50 S. Court St., had similar holiday shopping results compared to previous years and also had an increase in online sales, said Michael Fitterer, general manager of College Book Store. As in previous years, most of the store's holiday shopping revenue comes from online sales. Still, final numbers will not be released until the end of next week, Fitterer added.
We have a lot of alumni out there shopping for their Christmas gifts online
Fitterer said.
Local shoppers helped business over the holiday season at Universitees, 30 N. Court St., said Michelle Savage, the assistant manager of the Athens location. This year they promoted a buy one T-shirt, get three T-shirts free option that attracted many shoppers.
Overall sales were really good
and we were pretty busy
Savage said, adding, however, We were down less than $1
000 compared to last year's sales.
Many businesses had an extra boost in sales from the holiday events sponsored by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. Rollins attributed some of the successful revenue at Mountain Laurel Gifts to the Tree Lighting Festival on Dec. 4 where the store offered face painting.
The store made more money participating in this event than they had in previous years
Rollins added.
Many of the holiday events sponsored by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce helped promote shopping, Payne said. A Ladies' Night Uptown, visits from Santa, free wagon rides and performances by local choirs were held in December to bring people uptown.
Athens Area Chamber of Commerce also gave away $2,500 in gift cards to people at random to encourage shopping, Payne said.
Our goal is to encourage people to shop locally
