Dec 16, 2010

Sarasota-area retailers say sales are strongBy Kevin McQuaidHeraldTribune.com

Retailers across the U.S. are experiencing a typical pause after the rush of Black Friday-inspired sales, but many Florida merchants seem to be reveling in a sustained post-recession uptick this season.

“Our customer traffic has been extremely strong, which has been very encouraging for the season as a whole,” said Sam Davidson, marketing director at Westfield Corp.’s Southgate Mall, in Sarasota.

“Since Black Friday, it’s been steady all the way through this past Sunday,” Davidson said. “We haven’t experienced a lull at all.”

At Westfield’s other Southwest Florida property, Sarasota Square Mall, customer traffic is up roughly 5 percent from this time in 2009, mall officials have told retailers there.

“We expected things to taper somewhat, because we had such a strong Black Friday this year,” said Bob Parker, general manager of the J.C. Penney department store in Sarasota Square.

“But, percentage-wise, we’ve seen strong growth since then,” Parker said. “I attribute it, in part at least, to more snowbird and foreign customer traffic than we’ve had in past years.”

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