The Tuesday before Christmas doesn’t leave much time for last minute shopping, but local retailers said they are ready for the business.

From the chain stores to locally owned shops, retailers said they have seen steady crowds even into Monday, and businesses are expecting crowds up into Christmas Eve even.

“We’ve heard a lot of customers talking about waiting for the last minute door busters,” said Goody’s Family Clothing Assistant Manager Monica Arrington. “Last year, we weren’t too busy on Christmas Eve, but we expect to be a lot busier this year.”

Arrington said the business will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and she said they have plenty of last minute gifts for purchase, even gifts other than clothing on sale.

Arrington said gift boxes are also given for free with any purchase.

Other local shops said they have pre-Christmas sales and plenty in stock for those last minute shoppers.

Debbie Meeks, co-owner of Family Ties, said the shop will be open on Christmas Eve until noon, and they have several Christmas items up to 50 percent off.

Meeks said they have seen plenty of people coming in to make some last minute purchases and are hoping to keep traffic up until Christmas.

Right next door at Cathi’s Closet, everything in the store is 70-percent off for the preseason sales.

Both stores will gift wrap items at the register to make shopping even easier for last-minute buyers.

Patty Stoop, manager of Peebles, said the store has been steady for the last week.

“We’ve been steady and busy,” Stoop said. “We’ve got some great sales going on.”

For the next few days, Stoop said Peebles has some winter sweaters 50 and 60 percent off, and some buy one get one half-off sales for other items.

And, at Wal-Mart, Store Manager Bobby Brackenridge said business has picked up the last few days.

“The panic mode is in place,” Brackenridge said.

And despite hard economic times, businesses said their sales haven’t fluctuated too much this year.

Stoop said Peebles has seen similar business sales as they have in the last two years, and Arrington said Goody’s has only seen a slight difference in sales.

“We can tell a little bit of a variance but just a little,” Arrington said. “But we have so many discounts going on that it kind of helps promote the shopping here.”

Brackenridge said Wal-Mart’s lower prices have even helped their sales this year.

“People are shopping very conservative this year,” Brackenridge said. “They are just looking for the value.”