Moon Shoppers Spend More This Holiday Season

Shoppers are spending more freely this holiday season than they did a year ago, some Moon merchants report.

Business leaders said though the economy continues to stagnate, shoppers are not spending as cautiously as they were in 2009, when  news of the recession quelled consumer spending across the country.

Cheryl Conway, a manager at Kmart in Moon, said her store is performing much better than it did last year.

She said on Black Friday, sales at Kmart "were up compared to last year's sales."

Conway said Kmart's layaway plans may have helped the store stay ahead of the recessionary curve: The plans allow shoppers to make more high-end purchases and pay in increments.

"Moon Township is not a high retail community and some businesses have been able to rebound, while others aren't," said Sally Haas, president of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce in an e-mail statement.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau reported earlier this week that national retail sales in November rose .08 percent from the previous month. Total sales from September to November increased by 7.8 percent nationally, according to the report.

Hemanth Kapoor, a co-owner of Laurie's Hallmark Shop in Moon said the store began promoting Christmas specials in October to bring consumers into the shop.

"I'm very optimistic about the sales in the Moon Township store," Kapoor said.

Kapoor said the store this year was able to hire the same number of seasonal workers it has brought on in past years. Kmart, however, cut back on the number of seasonal employees, choosing instead to schedule more hours for regular staff members, Conway said.

"Everyone is in the holiday spirit, they're spending money and aren't afraid to, either," Conway said.