Money / AP FOX 26 Business

HOUSTON -- Retailers all around the county hoped the holiday season would boost sales at traditional shops and malls, but it just did not happen. The drop in revenue is leading to layoffs; the national unemployment rate is 7.2 percent. With so much economic uncertainty, flea markets like Traders Village are seeing an increase in attendance.

"We are getting more vendors from people trying to supplement their income from a full time job -- they may have during the week," says Mike Baxter with Traders Village. According to Baxter, more than 1.6 million people walked into this northwest Harris County flea market in 2008.

"Gosh! We are up over one hundred thousand people over last year," says Baxter.

Flea market shoppers are drawn by the low prices and the ability to bargain down prices to reflect day-to-day changes in the local economy.

"We got these who bag of fruit for five dollars, grapes cherries a whole big thing of tangerines," says Genie Ayala as she shopped at the Traders Village.

"There was a big drop off (in shoppers) back in April when the price of oil went up," says Gordon Houston, who sells telescopes at the flea market. "You could tell especially on Saturday."

Vendors say while the number of shoppers maybe improved, sales are just steady, but they admit that is better than a decline.

"It was strong generally," said Houston. "I am not certain it was anymore than past Christmases."

Meanwhile, Traders Village seems so confident that flea markets will get a boost from the weakening economy, the company is planning on opening a third location in Texas within 18 months. A second location already exists in Grand Prarie, near Dallas.