LAYTON, Utah — Thrift stores across the nation seem to be booming as Americans, bowing to the limits of their pocketbooks, have begun shopping more and more for used clothing and other items.
Richard Greene, a major in The Salvation Army, estimates sales in the church's thrift store in Ogden have gone up the past three years. He estimates sales have increased by at least 10 percent in the last year, though financial reports haven't been completed yet.
The Associated Press reports that nationwide, The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries International, the nation's two largest charitable resale organizations, report year-to-date sales increases of 6 percent to 15 percent.
In an industry trade group survey of more than 200 resale and thrift shops, nearly two-thirds of those businesses reported higher sales in 2008 compared to the previous year. The average sales increase: 35 percent.
"Consumers can't change the price of gas. They can't change the price of food. They can't make the stock market go up again," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops. "But they can control the price of clothes and furniture by being a savvy shopper."
Richard L. McKenna, director of Deseret Industries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he doesn't have sales figures available, but business at D.I. stores is currently extra high.
"People are seeking to make their dollar stretch further," he said.
Green said it's hard to say whether the sluggish economy is driving the growth in sales.
But one indicator may be the thrift-store vouchers The Salvation Army handed out in the past month totaling about $10,000, a number that surprised Greene. The vouchers are for clothing or other necessities that needy people can request.
And to see the crowd of hundreds at the new Deseret Industries thrift store in Layton on Thursday, it would be easy to think high gas prices and falling stocks had something to do with the carts full of merchandise that left the store.
But store manager Ted Hodges said that's how grand openings go for the D.I.
Hodges doesn't expect to see anything out of the ordinary once the grand opening ends Saturday. "We're always busy," he said.
But Sandra Matthews, a Syracuse resident who shops at D.I. about once a week, says a weakening economy may cause her to shop there more often. So did Veronica Perez, who lives in Salt Lake City and attended the D.I. opening with her mother. Perez currently stops in a D.I. about once every other month.
Merchandise is key to driving good business for D.I., Hodges said, adding that the people who donate to the store tend to donate popular items in good condition.
The current surge in thrift-store sales has a downside, though. The Salvation Army reports that just as consumers are now more likely to buy secondhand goods, they are also less likely to get rid of their used clothing or furniture in hard times.
As a result, The Salvation Army will roll out a national ad campaign in January — the first in its 128-year history in this country. Shoppers know they can find good deals at thrift stores.
In the D.I. book section Thursday, Hodges had a photocopy from a first-edition French translation of the Book of Mormon. The price: $5,000. Because the condition is good, the book could probably go for more than $18,000.
A bargain, for sure. Shoppers snapped up deals on Halloween costumes, picture frames, furniture and even an antique loom for $75. Proceeds from sales fund educational programs for some store employees, Hodges said. Of the 103 store employees, 37 are currently enrolled in trade or nursing school paid for by D.I. Hodges' job is not only to run the store well, but to train employees to get a better paying job by giving them work skills. It's his mission to get rid of employees within a year or 18 months. Hodges has been manager since 2002 and has seen increases in sales and the number of employees helped by the educational program every year.
Contributing: Lynn Arave, Deseret News; Associated Press
E-MAIL: jdougherty@desnews.com