The Garden City Telegram
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Less for gas, more for gifts
Published 12/23/2008 in Business : Business
By MONICA SPRINGER
Business owners in Garden City say foot traffic in stores has picked up this week, despite rough economic conditions nationwide.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Rachel Klaus and Matt Dunlap shop for last-minute Christmas gifts on Monday afternoon at The Good Sport. Klaus said she had one person left to shop for, and Dunlap said he already had completed his Christmas shopping for this year.
That increased foot traffic, store owners say, is likely a result of low gas prices, which allow people to spend less money on gas and more on gifts for the holidays.
"When gas prices hit the high point, you didn't see a lot of out-of-town people," said Pam Powers, owner of Designing Pages, a scrapbook store located at 1105 Kansas Plaza. She added that gas prices coming down has helped her business.
Powers said it's been an average month for sales, but she has seen an increase in the amount of gift certificates the store has sold.
Michelle Schmidt, whose father, Steve Spellman, owns RT Sporting Goods, 306 N. Main St., said business at the store has picked up over the past week and a half. The downtown store has seen an increase in the number of people coming in from outlying areas, including Hugoton, Dighton and other southwest Kansas towns.
Brian Rupp, owner of The Good Sport, 220 N. Main St., said his business always picks up around Christmas. About 60 percent of his business is from the southwest Kansas area. When gas prices went up last summer, that 60 percent dwindled to about 40 percent of his business, he said.
"Gas prices coming down have helped," Rupp said. "I'm definitely getting the area people back. That's nice."
Another reason stores are busy is the amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, there were three weeks between the two holidays, whereas last year there were four.
Schmidt said the increased traffic at RT Sporting Goods can be attributed to the fact that shoppers have less time this year.
"There's a lot of last-minute shoppers," Schmidt said.
November 2008 wasn't as busy as last November, she said, but December has been good and the store saw plenty of shoppers last weekend.
At The Corner on Main, 224 N. Main St., co-owner Michelle Mayo said the store's business has been hectic. She attributes that to only three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The store sells candles, Christmas decor, jewelry and dishware, along with other items.
"Business has been awesome," Mayo said.
And stores on Main Street aren't the only ones reaping the benefits of lower gas prices and last-minute shoppers.
Hastings, 2108 E. Kansas Ave, has beat all of the corporate office's holiday goals for the year, said Miguel Mendez, store manager.
The day after Thanksgiving was busy at the store, Mendez said, and business in the past couple of weeks has picked up. The store sometimes sees the same customers two and three times a day, he said.
"Gas prices has helped us out tremendously," Mendez said. "Business has picked up."
The store can't keep certain items in stock, including Jeff Dunham merchandise, the "Twilight" book series, and "Batman: The Dark Knight" movies.
"We can't keep those guys in stock," Mendez said.
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