Fair / 46° F
Frigid cold freezing some retail sales
Published 12:00pm Friday, December 11, 2009Sub-zero temperatures were enough to keep some Fergus Falls shoppers home Wednesday, though others sought out deals and promotions in spite of the cold.
Wal-Mart, which tracks customer counts through its cash registers, saw 30 percent fewer customers Wednesday, according to store manager Tim Bosworth.
“I think people are generally pretty tough, but yesterday the wind was terrible,” Bosworth said, referring to Wednesday’s weather.
The day’s high was 1 degree, according the National Weather Service out of Grand Forks. The low: 11 below zero.
Traffic was looking up by mid-day Thursday, Bosworth said, and unsurprisingly, cold weather apparel like gloves, mittens and boots were big sellers. The first wave of sub-zero temperatures is the first real test for vehicles, Bosworth said, which was reflected in the sale of Iso-HEET, windshield wipers and other car amenities.
Items like antifreeze and shovels were also popular at Pamida, where store manager Keith Erickson said he has not observed any major changes among customers.
“People are just bundled up a bit more,” he said.
A one-day sale at Herberger’s helped draw shoppers to Westridge Mall despite the cold. The weather seemed to be a popular topic of conversation among shoppers, said store manager Jill Williamschen, but had little impact on the day’s events.
Chris Fritz, manager at Walgreens, said that while traffic at the pharmacy has slowed, the rest of the store is looking better than usual.
“My business is actually up,” he said. “We’ve got a steady flow through the store.”
The store’s photolab has been particularly popular as people order Christmas cards, Fritz said. He added that while this year’s numbers look good, he doesn’t have counts from last year for comparison.
Cold in Fergus Falls doesn’t seem to be affecting sales as much as snow in the Twin Cities metro, he said.
