Minn. retailers bucking national sales trends

Early morning shopper
An early morning shopper pushes her cart full of items at a Wal-Mart store on Nov. 23. The day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," marks the start of the 2007 holiday shopping season with crowds of shoppers waiting overnight in long lines in the hopes of getting bargains on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Minnesota retailers may be doing better than the national trend so far this holiday season.

Some surveys show business is down dramatically at many of the nation's largest stores and mall retailers. But in Minnesota many merchants report higher sales.

Minnesota Retailers Association spokesman Buzz Anderson says an informal survey of retailers shows a relatively strong shopping season so far.

"I've heard that traffic has been great and sales have been up and internet sales have also been going through the roof," says Anderson. "There's one other factor too, and this doesn't surprise me. Gift card sales are up - way over last year."

Anderson says early December snow also jump-started snowmobile sales, which he says have been poor over the last few years.

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