BERLIN – Local merchants reported a booming Christmas shopping season in Berlin.
In the wake of the municipality’s Budget Travel designation as America’s Coolest Small Town, shopkeepers in Berlin said sales were strong throughout December.
“It was amazing,” said Heather Layton, owner of Bungalow Love. “2013 was excellent and this blew that one away.”
Layton said her shop stayed busy the entire month of December and that customers included both area residents and out-of-town patrons. Like many Berlin merchants, she kept her store open late on Fridays to accommodate shoppers.
“The town was busy,” Layton said.
Charlene McQuillen, who runs Una Bella Salute with her daughter, said the olive oil store kept busy in what was its first holiday season in Berlin.
“We did really well,” she said. “A lot of people came in for gifts.”
She said shoppers started coming in after Black Friday but that sales really picked up in the week before Christmas.
Ivy Wells, the town’s economic development director, said that though it was her first December in Berlin she couldn’t believe how busy the stores were.
“The sidewalks were full of shoppers,” she said. “Some of the businesses were so crowded you had to squeeze in.”
Mayor Gee Williams said foot traffic was stronger than it had ever been in the town.
“It was phenomenal,” he said.
A change he noticed from years past was that the town stayed busy even after Christmas. He believes the Budget Travel distinction extended the town’s holiday season.
“It’s an additional week of holiday merriment,” he said. “I think everyone’s pleased about that.”
Williams said the town’s various holiday activities went well, starting with Holiday Arts Night the day after Thanksgiving and ending with the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. He said 2,000 people were estimated to have attended the ball drop.
“That was a slightly smaller crowd than we’ve had but we attributed that to extremely cold weather,” Williams said.
Williams said he thought Berlin had definitely attracted new visitors since being named America’s Coolest Small Town. Throughout 2014 he talked to various people who were visiting Berlin for the first time, a trend he’s optimistic will continue into 2015.
“I hope they have the kind of experiences that keep them coming back,” he said.