TAMPA, Fla. — This year has been challenging for retail stores, both small and large, but the holidays are giving them a much needed boost.

The editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal said while we may not break any holiday sales records this year, people are shopping more.

“It's not crickets in the stores because people love the season, and found it to be a year where it's really important to give, and they're feeling like it's very meaningful in the year we've had to represent and acknowledge people, and to give some light and some love at a time we could all use it,” said Alexis Muellner.

That’s exactly what Sayh Davis, owner of the Sweet Chic Boutique in South Tampa, said she’s seen over the last couple of weeks, but she said business for the year is down by about 50% because of the shutdown, and no amount of holiday sales can make up for that.

Davis said her customers are also spending less— only about half of what they would normally spend during the holiday season. Like many big box stores, she’s made any changes she could to help people feel safe while shopping.

“We tried everything as far as curbside delivery, local deliveries, we also went online, we created bigger discounts than we normally would, but anything to keep our business rolling and surviving,” said Davis. “Anything is going to help us get the business back up from what we were over a month ago, so yes it is going to help a little bit, but not like the recovery we need.”

Overall, the National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to still be up this year anywhere from 3-5%.