With the Christmas holidays almost over, businesses in Atmore are still encouraging residents of the area to shop locally and seeing mixed results.

Jus Because has seen a boom during its holiday season, with customers flowing in to pick up everything from scarves and candles to boots and jewelry.

Adding new merchandise each year has helped the Atmore shop increase its business at the holidays, owner Tracy Miller said.

“It has picked up a lot since holiday shopping has started and we have done exceptionally well,” she said. “We add new merchandise each year, which has helped us show an increase in sales.”

Atmore Appliance, located on Main Street in downtown Atmore, has been seeing mixed results on sales during the last few weeks.
Some items have been selling more frequently than others due to needs and what other places are selling, owner Stephanie Steele said.

“It’s been up and down,” she said. “We have people coming in and doing some serious looking and we have others who come in actually purchase something. We’ve sold a lot of guns lately with it being that time of the season and people purchasing them as gifts for their hunters. We’ve lowered our TVs down to 10 percent above cost, which is where our price is. We are still higher than some places, but that’s because we don’t buy on a large scale. We have sold a couple this week, which is always a good sale.”

With Christmas still a few days away, both stores are encouraging people to stop in and browse counters and shelves.
For those looking for appliances or a new mower, Atmore Appliance has deals going to help customers take them home, Steele said.

“We are carrying Snapper lawnmowers and they are offering three-year extended warranties,” she said. “We also have a lot of deep freezes in stock, which are big sellers this time of year with our smallest being five cubic foot, which costs $250 and they go up from there.”

Down the street at Jus Because, sales are still running and the store has extended its hours, Miller said.

“Jus Because still has merchandise coming in daily,” she said. “We have extended our hours for people who may be shopping and we will also be open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Our sales will last until Christmas.”