KERRY traders were popping the champagne corks on new year's eve after reaping the benefits of the big euro changeover with shoppers frenetically offloading whatever punts remained in jars or under mattresses in their homes.
Cash registers went into overdrive during the final days of 2001 as shop-pers splashed out on the end-of-year sales prior to the currency changeover.
And businesses were only too happy to take full advantage of the seasonal goodwill from shoppers who abandoned credit card shopping to offload whatever punts they had left.
Killarney Chamber of Commerce President, Anthony Walsh, believed that the end-of-year shopping spree reflected what was going on throughout the country.
"There were a lot less credit cards being used as people used up their spare cash before the euro changeover," he told The Kingdom.
"There are lots of people around and it is certainly better than last year, though it is very hard to compare the two as the weather this time last year was a nightmare," he said.
Tralee Traders spokesman, Chris Shortt, said the streets of the town were "buzzing" in recent days.
"We started our sale on Friday and it was very busy. There was a queue outside the shop when it opened at
10.30am and people were very eager to get out into the shops and spend money," he said.
"There were a lot of £50 and £20 notes around," he confirmed.
"It s down to two things - the first would be what they call mattress money and then, of course, there is the fact that ATM machines dispense the larger notes," Mr Shortt told The Kingdom.
"People are using more cash but this week they will start using credit cards more to facilitate the euro," the Tralee businessman suggested.
"People are not holding back and they are using their cash. It won t be devalued but they want to avoid the hassle factor," Mr Shortt said.
"The euro, like Y2K, is an unknown quantity and people want to make the changeover as simple as possible," he added.
The end-of-year sales are always particularly busy time for retailers but this year the changeover brought matters to a head during the final run-in to the new currency.
And Mr Shortt appealed to shoppers to be ready and be patient as they embark on their first shopping sprees with the new currency.
"Most retailers have front loaded coins and notes and banks were determined to make sure that everybody was equipped properly for it, Mr Shortt said.
"But there is only so much training you can give your staff - staff and customers will just have to be patient and friendly while we get to grips with it," the Tralee businessman added.
