Arguably, seasonal shops have even more at stake.

With a softening national economy, tightening availability for credit and rising unemployment, keeping a business in the black may be more difficult than ever, especially for retailers that operate only during the holiday season.

Of the 17 seasonal stores at the Conestoga Mall in Grand Island, merchants report mixed sales during the shopping season so far. The stores that have operated at the mall before seem to be faring better than first-timers.

Seasonal shops open November through December, with some variability, selling items marketed to holiday shoppers. All but four at Conestoga operate out of kiosks.

"People are shopping for something cheaper," said Don Reynolds, store manager of Grow Nebraska, a seasonal shop that features goods from Nebraska artisans. "It's been a slow week, but the whole mall is saying that."

Reynolds said some products are selling, however. One brand of fruitcake from a Beatrice baker is particularly popular, he said.

"It's a gift someone can use."

Items that have some utility, such as food baskets or clothing, seem to be more popular than housewares, such as glassware and pottery, he said.

Some other retailers agreed with Reynolds' assessments.

"The amount of traffic is not as good as I expected," said Larry Gosnell, who runs Scentsy Flameless, Wickless Candles in a mall kiosk.

Gosnell said he hoped to create a customer base via holiday sales that he could transfer to his store's Web site to increase traffic the rest of the year.

He attributed his lackluster seasonal sales to media coverage of the economy.

"There's been too much negativity in the press on how bad things are," he said, adding that stories about the nation's economic woes unduly influence consumers' shopping habits. "If you have an attitude that (retail sales) are going to be bad, (they are) probably going to be bad."

However, what's happening on the national scene doesn't necessarily translate directly to Nebraska's economy, said Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

"Nationwide, the economy has been quite weak all year. In Nebraska, the economy probably grew this year," he said.

Thompson cautioned that things may get worse in Nebraska before they get better, and the holiday shopping season may reflect that reality.

"We're starting to get caught in the national troubles," he said. "It will be a hard Christmas (retail season) but not as bad in Nebraska as nationwide."

While some seasonal retailers seem to be caught up in the tentacles of a slow economy, others say business is comparable to past years.

Jacque Jones, owner of Jacque's Holiday Showcase, has run a craft store during the holiday season at the mall for eight years. She said receipts are actually up this year, as compared to the same time last year.

Her husband, Stan, who also works for the business, said their increased sales may be a result of the economy, just not in the way you might expect.

"In a low economy, crafters do well," he said. The shop carries a variety of items at a low price point.

For seasonal retailers who report lower-than-expected sales figures, mall Manager Tony Schultz said it's too early in the shopping season to fret.

"If (retailers) are worried about sales now, they probably aren't familiar with when it gets busy," Schultz said. "November has pretty decent traffic but nothing like December."

He said 3 percent of the mall's retail space remains unoccupied. Even though a few merchants opted not to return to the mall this holiday season, their spots were easily filled, he said.

Mall officials said they hope they'll be able to fill those spaces with the same ease after the holidays are passed and seasonal retailers clear out.

Said Melissa Griffith, marketing director: "We don't anticipate (problems filling the space), but we don't know for sure.”