Customers finish sales tax-free holiday shopping

Not all of the shoppers were at Westfield West Park to take advantage of Missouri's tax-free weekend. Jarret Green of Cape Girardeau was there incidentally.

"I think the tax-free thing is pointless," said Green. "I'm from Tennessee, and the sales tax there is almost 10 percent. Here, it's nothing. I'm not going to get trampled just so I can save 6 percent."

Many shoppers at J.C. Penney's on Sunday disagreed, however. The store was filled with parents buying clothes for their children, which were tax free along with school supplies all weekend.

Lori Jones of Marble Hill was one of those parents. "I figure, I've got to shop for school clothes for the kids anyway, I might as well not pay the tax and save a little money."

"Every little bit helps," agreed Leah Hammel, who drove from Chester, Ill., to take advantage of the sale. "I had to shop for my two girls anyway, and the crowds aren't too bad today."

Business had indeed died down by Sunday, according to Joel Thomas, children's department supervisor at J.C. Penney's.

"Saturday was insane. We had a record day, and we had a record day last year, too."

Thomas said the hardest part of keeping up with the tax-free weekend was keeping merchandise stocked. "Every minute there's something to bring out," he said. "People are shopping hard and shopping fast."

Thomas said that while he himself wouldn't shop simply to save 6 percent, he could understand why those with big families would come out to shop for the weekend. His statement echoed what many parents were already saying:

"Every little bit counts."

nstanfield@semissourian.com

335-6611 ext 127