Thursday, 4:30 PM
Tax-free holiday luring shoppers
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
Phil Szabla of Needham carries a box and an order slip in his mouth as he makes his way through a mob of shoppers in the warehouse area of an Ikea store in Stoughton.
By Steven H. Bagley, Globe Correspondent
Stores across the state are selling their wares tax-free this weekend, hoping for big crowds and big profits.
Nate Richards, manager of Best Buy's Attleboro store, says a steady stream of customers is flowing into his store. There were 200 people lined up when the store opened at 8 a.m. He predicted a "huge spike in revenue."
"It's like an early Christmas. For this store at least, it's a very heavy increase," Richards added, saying the store was a "sea of moving people."
In order to cope with the crowds, Richards noted, extra staff had to be brought in from Rhode Island.
Not every store in the area was initially bombarded. A Circuit City at the South Bay shopping center in Boston's Dorchester section opened early to a group of 10 to 15 people, said store manager Rick Wong. He said business picked up as the morning progressed.
"Customers are happy, that's the bottom line," he said.
The governor recently signed a bill that exempts shoppers from the state's 5 percent sales tax on most purchases up to $2,500 today and Sunday.
