Businesses brace for busy end to season
Christmas is less than two weeks away, and local merchants are hoping for a busy end to the holiday shopping season.
Darrell Courtney, Rugby Pamida manager, said the store is expecting a busy end, though, as last-minute shoppers look for gifts and stores put together final sales to attract customers.
Electronics and Wii and other interactive video games again are popular gift items there. Clothes have been steady sellers as well, Courtney said. Pamida enjoyed a busy first weekend of shopping, but it’s tapered off in the past few weeks. He said they have seen their share of locals and out-of-town shoppers.
Helen Ferguson of
i design said holiday gift orders for personalized clothing items with photos and other designs have started to pick up, and the business expects more requests in the days leading up to the holiday as people look to finish their shopping.
Jane Gross, from The Cottage Floral and Gift, said the local business has been very pleased with the amount of traffic in the shop and with sales. “It’s been better than last year,” Gross said. “We have had a good mix of local and out-of-town shoppers. We don’t have anything to complain about.”