(FOLEY, Ala.) - Renee Hally and her daughter Sarah Newsom are a shopping team from Farmerville, Louisiana.
And when they come to the beach, that means they also come to Foley's Tanger Outlet Center.
The reason?
"Good prices!" said one.
"Good prices, good selection, good sales," echoed the other.
"The average tourist, if they stay here a week, will usually shop us an average of three times that week," said Tom Knighten.
Knighten is the general manager of Foley's Tanger Center.
He says 95% of the traffic at the mall comes from those who are visiting the beach, at least when conditions are normal.
"We totally go after the tourists when they're here," he said. "When the oil spill came, we flip flopped it. We went after the locals."
That was a smart move that kept sales steady in spite of that environmental disaster.
But the mall and region has rebounded now.
And the outlet mall continues to grow, with 98 percent of the stores here still owned by the companies that bear their name.
Not too long ago, Tanger Outlet decided it was going to try to make the shopping experience one for the whole family.
That's when it added a carousel, an interactive fountain and a covered playground.
"Dad is watching the kids at the playground, and mom is shopping! That's strategic!" Knighten said, laughing.
But when you get down to it, what really makes this Foley hotspot so hot for so long are ... the deals!
Which brings us back to our shoppers from Louisiana.
Their buy of the day?
"$400 purse for probably about $100," says Mom.
Great news they'll share with their husbands at home, right?
"Probably not," said Renee.
"It's ok, they won't know!" Sarah replied.
But look how much they saved!
