Eastern Wake — Back-to-school shoppers and those who wanted to save some money on big ticket items took advantage of Tax Free Weekend.

‘‘Everybody has their back-to-school list in their hand,” said Target store manager Jessica Murphy.

Murphy said she expected sales to be better than last year’s which were good.

“Last year, we were pretty busy and steady,” she said. ‘Everyone's looking for additional savings (this year).”

The economy hit home to Annette Boykin of Zebulon. She was out Friday at Hudson Belk in Zebulon because of the tax-free status.

She looked through items on sale, something most shoppers were doing at Belk.

In addition to the no sales tax, Belk offered sale items and a 15-percent incentive to use a Belk’s card.

“It's usually real busy,” said Belk manager Robin Jackson, who expects the same this year.

Jackson said she is seeing shoppers looking for bigger ticket items, such as dresses for themselves, or school clothes for their children.

Karen Young of Zebulon was just one of those shoppers. She was out because of the tax-free status to buy a dress and school clothes for her daughter.

“It's a benefit to the family,” said Edna Poole of Zebulon, shopping for school supplies at Target.