The busiest day in any store is the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, as it is better known, sends mad rushes of holiday shoppers to stores –with some even camping out looking for deals.

So when the Alabama Sales Tax Holiday, or Tax Free Weekend, comes to Alabama in August, it can almost be viewed as a warm up for November. Several local businesses see a spike in customers, sales and overall business activity.

“There’s always an increase,” said Clanton Walmart Assistant Manager Matthew Jones.

Jones said with the breaks on taxes come an influx of back-to-school shoppers. One of the keys to a successful weekend is scheduling.

“We’re expecting higher customer traffic than normal,” he said. “We try to adjust our employees’ schedules for the increase in customer traffic.”

The stores that are most commonly hit by a wave of customers are those that sell clothes, electronics and school supplies. Among the guidelines for an object to be exempt from taxes is that it must be a single item of clothing costing less than $100, a single computer-related item costing less than $750, and single items of school supplies costing less than $50.

Susan Grund, manager of the Clanton Market Place Dollar General, said she also noticed an increase in the amount of shoppers but said she encourages people to come to her store.

“I’m hoping to have 100-200 more a day at least,” she said.

Grund also said if any customer has a question or needs assistance, to simply ask for it.

“If they need help, just ask,” she said. “If they need something that isn’t on the shelf, we’ll go get it from the back. We’ll be glad to help.”