"There's a lot of people pushing brick and mortar, you know keep the money in the community," Julie Deloreto, LeeLee store manager said.
Deloreto says sales were up this year at the Williamsville women's clothing store compared to last Christmas.
The National Retail Federation says consumers were expected to spend about $970 this holiday season. That's up 3.4% from last year.
Deloreto says that means catering to loyal customers to make each year better.
"Williamsville has brought more businesses into the community and I think that always helps," she said.
Other stores didn't fair well.
Ten Thousand Villages moved from Williamsville to the Elmwood Village in Buffalo three months ago.
Emma Gietzen-Kane, Ten Thousand Villages store manager, says sales were down.
"I think it's because people are finding out where we are because we just moved," Gietzen-Kane said.
Online shopping has become a big factor. The NRF reports 59% of consumers planned to shop online this season versus 25% at local businesses.
"Over time people will be drawn more to that customer service and that experience hopefully than shopping online," Gietzen-Kane said.
It's the customer service at small businesses like these that hope will keep shoppers coming back for more all year long.
