When Waynesboro resident Jerenne Sellers and her granddaughter, Jessica Campbell, took a break from a morning of shopping to calculate their savings Saturday, they were happily surprised.

Thanks to Mississippi’s first sales tax holiday, the two saved about $100 on purchases. They were among hundreds of shoppers taking advantage of the tax break by shopping at stores in Laurel’s Sawmill Square Mall.

“We bought three outfits apiece for my two great grandchildren here,” Sellers said, pointing to 10 -year-old Raven Ulmer and her five-year-old brother, Gavin. “I think this was an excellent idea and I would like to see it again.”

So does Isabella English of Laurel, who used the stroller of her eight-month-old daughter, Shannon, to haul the merchandise she purchased at J.C. Penny. “This is very exciting and helpful, especially when you are shopping for three children,” she said.

The tax free holiday, which started at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ended Saturday at 12 a.m., was enacted by Gov. Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Legislature to allow shoppers to purchase certain back-to-school items, exempting the state’s seven percent sales tax.

During the holiday, clothing and footwear were exempted from sales tax if the sales price of a single article was less than $100. Pants, shirts and blouses, dresses, coats, jackets, belts, hats, undergarments, and multiple piece garments sold as a set were among the exempted items.

Even with the tax exemption, Shubuta resident Minnie Dean said she did not see much savings on shoe purchases. Dean, who came to Laurel to do some back-to-school shopping for her four grandchildren, said “tennis shoes are pretty high, even when you take a way a few tax dollars you’re spending a lot of money.”

Dean’s grandchildren Kaylen Mayfield, 13, and Marquis Carter, 11, walked out of Foot Locker with new pairs of tennis shoes despite “grandma’s” complaints about the cost.

With a smile she said, “... I really did good at J.C. Penny. They had a 15 percent off sale, too. That helped me save even more money on the four outfits I bought there.”

J.C. Penny Store Manager Kevin McDonald said the store has had brisk sales since Friday. “Our children’s department has been the busiest,” said McDonald. “We’ve sold out of a lot of items in the school uniform stock.”

Linda Caston, supervisor of the children’s department, said school uniforms and Arizona jeans have been their fastest selling items. “People are grabbing them as fast as we put them out,” she said.

“I’ve had to restock several times already,” she said at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. “I’ve been at it since 6:30 a.m.”

McDonald said he anticipated a great response to the tax free holiday. “I have lived in North Carolina, Alabama and Florida and have been around other cities that have no sales taxes.

“I applaud the state of Mississippi for what it is doing to help the consumers,” he added. “However, I think it would be a good thing if they added school supplies and hurricane preparedness supplies. It’s a good way to help families get ready for back-to-school and the hurricane season.”

Exempting school supplies would be a great boost for stores like Walgreens Drug Store, which offers a variety of schools supplies. “We don’t sell school uniforms and shoes, so we are not getting the shoppers like the other stores,” said manager Daphne Kirkland. “Since we knew there was going to be a lot of traffic on the roads during the weekend, we decided to have a back-to-school event before the start of school.”

She set up a concession stand in the store parking lot Saturday and provided free hot dogs and drinks to customers. Also, an air jump was set up for the children to enjoy and members of the Laurel Fire Department were on hand to provide fire safety tips.

“We are also giving out information about flu shots,” said Kirkland. “This is one of the services we offer here at the drug store that not many people know about.”

Daniel Wesley of Laurel was among those receiving information about flu shots. He said he noticed the fire truck in the parking lot and all of the activity going on and decided to stop.

“I think this is great what they are doing at Walgreens,” he said. “I also think the tax free weekend is one of the best things our legislature has ever done. It would be great if all days were like this.

“Think about it, no state taxes forever. Now wouldn’t that be nice?”