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Wintry weather doesn't slow holiday shoppers

Posted December 10, 2007 10:00 pm

Jacqueline Koch

Dick and Cindy Whitehurst sandwiched holiday shopping between the weekend's winter storm and Monday night's projected ice and sleet while shopping for clothes at The Shoppes at Grand Prairie.

"We're in between storms," Dick Whitehurst said Monday afternoon.

Weather affects whether the rural Chillicothe couple heads out to shop.

"For us to get into town, it has to be decent road-wise," Cindy Whitehurst said.

But local retailers say the recent weather hasn't stopped customers from holiday shopping.

The Shoppes at Grand Prairie experienced a steady stream of shoppers on Saturday, even amid an ice storm that coated the Tri-County Area with about a tenth of an inch of freezing rain and caused cities to issue traffic collision alerts.

"Actually Saturday, we were extremely busy," said property manager Dawn Shipman. "It was crazy. I personally think it's because the little bit of snow and the little bit of ice get you in the shopping mode. (People) think, 'I gotta get it done.'"

Shipman said the closer people live to the Shoppes, the more likely they are to venture out, even in inclement weather.

On Monday, Grand Prairie staff saw many people purchase gift cards as back-up plans.

"Our gift card sales are something that a lot of the customers will come in and say, 'Give me these gift cards. I'll come buy if I make it back in; I'll give them as gifts if I don't,'" Shipman said. "It's kind of their safety net."

At UFS on Southwest Adams Street, co-owner Pierre Serafin said sales have been better this year than last.

"Last year's snow was devastating," he said, referring to the Dec. 1, 2006, snowstorm that blasted central Illinois with more than 8 inches of snow. "We really lost three days last year."

This past weekend, Serafin said shoppers were out in full force.

"It's more a sense of urgency getting things," he said. "There's a forecast and storm warning for (Monday night.)"

Customers bought salt and ice scrapers to prepare for the storm and picked up Christmas gifts as well. But Serafin said more serious storms affect sales.

"Definitely when the storm hits, there's a definite effect on business," he said. "Nobody wants to drive in ice. The snow's not so bad."

At Fluff, an accessories store on Lake Avenue, employee Whitney Carlyle said freezing rain didn't slow shoppers on Saturday.

"I was pretty surprised just because if I needed to do Christmas shopping, I would have stayed home that day," she said. "I had asked customers about how the roads were and people said they weren't bad."

Jacqueline Koch can be reached at (309) 686-3251 or jkoch@pjstar.com.

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