Not that long ago, shoppers at the Jersey Shore could expect to wade through the shallow end of the retail world.

At a typical resort store, customers might find a kitschy collection of cheap T-shirts, saltwater taffy and hermit crabs.

But now, observers see a growing appetite for upscale items in an increasingly affluent marketplace. The trend is most evident in Atlantic City, where several ventures will target high-end shoppers this summer, but it can be spotted in other resort towns, too.

“Customers today are a little more sophisticated,” says Larry Hume, who notes $20 T-shirts with an artist’s design easily outsell $6 counterparts at his family’s gift-shop complex at Sunset Beach near Cape May Point. “People will pay more if they see something that’s really different and really nice.”

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