For some retailers, the tills are ringing, but for others this holiday shopping season will not be enough to see them through another year.After 25 years in business, retailer Ellen Brown said this will be her last Christmas on the sales floor.“I am bowing out,” she said, adding she planned to sell Washington Mall landmark The Body Shop. “I have lost my foot traffic there are less people out shopping and costs have depleted us.”As a small-business owner she said she could no longer cope with high overheads, including taxes and several thousand dollars a month in rent for the Body Shop’s prime space in the mall.She said she had also been left burned out by working long hours in retail and it was time for a change.At the major department stores, senior managers said they were expecting slightly better sales than last Christmas and were offering more promotions and spending more on advertising to bring in customers.Overall, AS Cooper’s, Brown & Co, Phoenix, and Gibbons Co, said they were pleased with sales and feedback from customers, whom they thanked for making a clear effort to buy Bermuda this Christmas.On the other end of the spectrum, some established speciality stores and boutiques said sales were great.Benetton’s manager said they’d sold out of children’s clothing lines while All Wrapped Up’s owner said he was very pleased with sales.“We expect sales to be above target,” said Suzannah Hornburg Dutoya of the Hornburg Calypso group of stores (Calypso, Benetton, Voila, Longchamp, Women’s Secret, Sisley, French Connection, MaxMara). “It’s been a good December I have to say. And children’s has been strong.”Peter Richold, the owner of All Wrapped Up in the Washington Mall, said sales were brisk - helped by his customers and bringing in later shipments for the season to keep goods fresh. The store planned to stay open late through Christmas Eve.Ronnie Baksh of men’s store the Edge, which has been in the Washington Mall almost 20 years now, said sales had been strong and he expected Christmas to be better than last year with sales picking up significantly this week.George Grundmuller, president and CEO of the Phoenix Stores and Brown & Co, said: “We had a really good Black Friday event, and we’ve done lots of promotions. We were quite pleased with November and December is about on par with where we were last year. We are hopeful we will be able to finish the month on a positive note.”He said Phoenix would be open until 7pm on Saturday, Christmas Eve.He said Brown & Co had seen strong sales this year in home furnishings, certain jewellery lines, sunglasses, perfumes, and Christmas decor.“We are where we planned,” said Somers Cooper of AS Cooper’s. “We are hopeful that having two extra Saturdays this month we can pull slightly ahead.“We have spent more money this year on advertising and promotions, which have to do to get more people into the shops. People are definitely spending less.”Cooper’s is having a draw for two motorcycles this Christmas Eve; customers are entered to win if they spend $75 or more.Crisson’s general manager Susan Millar said the store had been very busy, with strong sales of the popular Pandora bracelets and beads, which have drawn crowds of shoppers around the brand’s counter in the store.“We are quite pleased,” she said. “It’s hard to tell right now but we are hopeful sales will be at least the same as last year.”Gibbons Co CEO Paula Clarke said sales were “matching expectations”.She said the fact Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday has been a big help to retailers. Also, she said, sweater and blanket sales “took off” after the turn in weather over the past few days.She said feedback from customers had been positive and staff had told her about one customer who’d decided to cancel her planned shopping trip abroad after doing all her holiday shopping at Gibbons.