Highlands County Merchants Prepare For An Extended Shopping Season

SEBRING - Go figure.

You'd think that after the Christmas shopping rush, local retailers should be able to take a breather, but several store representatives said Wednesday that snowbirds will continue to keep workers busy for a little longer.

Kathleen Trussell, store manager of Bealls, said operating hours will go back to normal starting today, but there will be no employee layoffs, in anticipation of continued heavy business.

"Our main holiday season is November, December, January and February," said Trussell. "The snowbird season is pretty intense."

Gene Gauger, assistant manager at Wal-Mart, said every employee worked on Christmas Eve, and the store was able to restock shelves following the pre-Christmas rush. He said business would stay very strong through Easter.

Big sellers at The Home Depot early Wednesday were Christmas lights and other leftover holiday-oriented merchandise. Cheryl Hanson, front end supervisor, said shoppers were lined up in front of the store at 6 a.m.

Business at The Home Depot will stay strong, but customers will notice a difference following the holiday, said Hanson.

"We're a little at ease now that the rush is over," said Hanson. "We can give more customer service to our regular customers now that the Christmas rush is over."

Shoppers Seize Bargains

Pam Manns, of Frostproof, and daughters, Kim Manns of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Linda Manns of Dayton, Ohio, were filling an already loaded shopping buggy at Bealls.

The Manns started out at 8 a.m., and by 9:30 a.m. were shopping for bargains at the third stop of the day. The Manns' buggy overflowed with a pair of hip-hop Santas (70 percent off of the normal price of $35.99) and an inflatable Golf Cart Santa at 70 percent off the regular pre-Christmas price, while mother Pam held an ornament for next year's tree.

Ruth Harkness has been hitting the after-Christmas sales for five years and said she was taking a rest from carrying a loaded bag full of discounted gift wrap and Christmas cards while she waited for her daughter to take a break.

"I love shopping and becoming closer with family," said Harkness. "I'm shopping for myself for next year."

Debbie and Mike Ingalls, of Avon Park, were buying half-priced Christmas goods the day after Christmas.

The couple raved about the discounted Christmas lights and dreamed of next year.

"It's half price and you just can't beat it," said Mike Ingalls.

"And next year we'll have twice as much," added Debbie Ingalls.

Cashing In Those Gift Cards

Gene Gauger of Wal-Mart said many shoppers on Wednesday were redeeming gift cards for purchases.

"A gift card lets someone get the right gift," said Gauger. "They can spend it on something they really want."

Gauger said children generally spend up to the value of a gift card, while rarely leaving even a portion of the card's value unspent as many adults do for sometimes months at a time.

The Home Depot's Hanson said a Christmas tree with hanging gift cards was an excellent promotion.

"When people couldn't decide what they wanted, they went over to the tree by the self-service check-out and picked out a gift card," Hanson said.