Economy takes a baby step forward
Albany, Ga – Retail sales have increased slightly. It may not sound like much, but retail sales rose about half percent in August, and that’s the best gain in five months, despite the fact that car sales dropped.
And it’s not just necessities people are buying, they are putting their money into discretionary items. Place on the Pointe gift shop is a specialty retailer. They like to celebrate the happy moments in life, like weddings and babies.
But in hard times, people have been forced to cut back on spending on novelty gift items, so how have they made it through?
Ask Tina Harden what brings her to Place on the Pointe and she can rattle off multiple reasons. “Because they bring in such interesting things, and their service is wonderful and the people are delightful and it’s fun to shop in here.”
Today, she’s shopping for two different brides. Store Manager Honey Bolton says customers like Harden are what keeps Place on the Pointe in business year after year. “I think customers are very specific about where they’re spending their discretionary income and they’re going to spend it where they’re appreciated and where they get good value for their products,” she said.
Bolton says they’ve seen a slight increase in sales, but they never had a dramatic drop. She says that’s because even though they offer high end gift items like China, flatware and stemware, they also have other products that appeal to people in at any price point.
