Local shoppers join tax-free frenzy
For one weekend only, the sticker price on that laptop you’ve been eyeing is actually the total you’ll have to cough up.
Tax-Free Weekend in Tennessee kicked off at 12:01 a.m. Friday and will last until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. On Friday afternoon, thrifty shoppers looking to save a few bucks were swarming stores to buy computers, clothes and school supplies.
“Why not save some money?” said Rebecca Renner while shopping with her daughter, Molly, a sophomore returning to Florida State in Tallahassee this fall.
The two were looking over a comforter to go in Molly’s new townhouse.
“I’m trying to move out of the small dorm area,” she said.
The Renners joined legions of shoppers who packed Hamilton Place mall. According to employees there, Tax-Free Weekend is one of the busiest weekends of the year.
“It’s kind of the formal kickoff for the second half of the year,” said Nathan Harrold, a general manager at JCPenney. “It’s huge for us.”
Harrold said sales have increased from last year, and he estimated there was at least 60 percent more foot traffic in the store on Friday than on normal Fridays.
He expected even more people to come through today. He said the store has made a few adjustments for the weekend, such as opening an hour early, staying open an hour later and buying food for employees who are working busy shifts.
“This weekend [employees] are
allowed to wear jeans and tennis shoes because we keep them running,” he said.
But not everybody in the mall was there to blow their paycheck. A group of football players who go to Boyd-Buchanan School said they didn’t know it was Tax-Free Weekend and just came to buy smoothies after winning a scrimmage against Hixson High School.
“We’re just people-watching now,” Elliott Cochran said while sitting with his friends in the food court.
Asked if they were planning on any purchases since learning about the sale, Arkeem High and Jeremy Borders didn’t skip a beat.
“Shoes,” the two said in unison, with a fist-bump over the table.
Cochran said there wasn’t anything he wanted to buy, but Borders and High started to make fun of him.
“His middle name is Foxworthy, so you know he’s got money,” High laughed.
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.