Nov 27, 2007

Holiday shopping season off to good start for retailersBy Ingrid StegemoellerTri-CityHerald.com

Store owners and managers across the Mid-Columbia reported a positive start to the holiday shopping season during the post-Thanksgiving kickoff weekend.

National retailers in the Tri-Cities saw encouraging numbers while many smaller local stores also experienced increases in sales and traffic from last year.

“Numbers have been good and up” from last year, said Linda Pasco, owner of Lemon Grass at Marineland Village in Kennewick.

The store underwent an expansion earlier this year, which means shoppers have more merchandise to choose from and more space to pore over potential purchases.

“We saw a lot of new customers and a lot of returners,” Pasco said.

Saturday was her busiest day, she said, which isn’t surprising because many shoppers choose to hit the big chain stores on Friday. Plus, the weather was unusually cold, which can drive people away, she said.

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