Sale signs fill the school supplies aisle as Fred’s prepare for the back-to-school season and the upcoming sales tax holiday beginning Friday, Aug. 3 and ending Sunday, Aug. 5.

Letisha Brantley, manager of Fred’s, said they hope to see a rise in sales over the weekend as shoppers come to buy their school necessities.

“We have some sales on school items like paper and folders,” she said. “We hope that will bring in people.”

Among the list of tax free items are certain school supplies, clothes and computers less than $750. Customers will experience a waiver of the four percent state, two percentage county and the three percentage city taxes totaling nine percent.

Roberta Johnson, Fred’s shopper, said she plans to come to Fred’s to buy school supplies and the no sales tax is an incentive to shop this weekend.

“I participated in the sales tax holiday last year as well, and it really helps when I saw a difference in the bill price,” she said.

Sales associates at The Shoe Dept. take the week to prepare for the sales tax holiday by opening boxes of shipments, stocking the shelves and hanging sale advertisement signs.

Deborah Reyna, manager of The Shoe Dept., said all employees are on the schedule to work the weekend to help with the increased number of customers that come to purchase items.

“I worked last year during the sales tax holiday and the aisles were lined with people,” she said. “Combined with the sale prices and the no sales tax, it does make a difference in the bill.”

In addition to shoes, the store opened freight boxes full of book bags they plan to sell over the weekend as well.

“For us, the sales tax holiday is having extra stock, keeping the store in order and having enough associates here to get the customers in and out,” Reyna said.

Customers, who plan to shop during the no sales tax holiday, can visit www.revenue.alabama.gov for a full list of the items tax exempt.