Influx of students returning to campus creates business boom

They come every year to Bloomington during mid-August in a swarm. They're much more profitable than, and not nearly as annoying as this summer's cicadas, but they make a huge difference in how the city of Bloomington runs everyday.\nThey're IU students. And they've come with credit cards, cash and checks, ready to buy out Bloomington.\nAt 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, freshman move-in day, the parking lot at Target in College Mall was nearly packed. Walking inside wasn't much different -- the constant beeping of registers signified dollars being spent by students and dollars being made by Target. Thirteen registers were open then, and each one had a sizable line.\nFurther back in the store, red-shirted Target employees were stocking and restocking shelves, answering customers' questions and talking on walkie-talkies -- sometimes all at once.\nJessica Freund, a Target employee and IU junior, was one such employee. She said working when it's very busy is challenging at times. \n"I get asked a million questions, like, 'Do you have any more of this?'" Freund said. "We're out of a ton of stuff, and we have no idea when we'll be getting those things in, so then the customers get mad. But there's nothing we can do about it, so that's hard."\nTarget receives two truckloads of merchandise per day during this peak season. Both day and night warehouse crews constantly bring out product to refill the empty shelves. Target also extended its hours for the six days after the residence halls opened.\nTarget has implemented a method of spreading out its employees to try to guarantee maximum customer service. "We do what are called 'huddles,'" Freund said. "Employees get together periodically in little groups and then disperse to make sure all zones are covered."\nWal-Mart's business also skyrockets during August, but even more so during its annual "Midnight Madness" event. Every year, as part of Welcome Week, students from the residence halls are bused to and from Wal-Mart from 10 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday for a shopping spree of discounted items, raffles and other festivities.\nGeneva Wease, a Wal-Mart employee of six years, has worked Midnight Madness every year and said she loves it.\n"It's a lot of fun," she said, "but it's a lot of work, too. The store orders a bunch more stuff, and we get the store ready for all the students to come."\nThe large amount of students that attend the event demands a higher number of employees than usual, too. "We have extra people come in," Wease said. "All the day-shift comes in, and even people from different stores volunteer to come in and help."\nJoining in on the festivities, WBWB-FM had a van set up outside with music blaring from speakers as students milled around waiting for the bus to take them back to the residence halls. Representatives from B97 handed out free samples of a new soda, Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Nina Onesti, an account executive for B97, participated in the event. \n"We're just having a good time, hanging out and talking to people," Onesti said. "And watching people spend lots of money, which is a good thing."\nOnesti graduated from IU this spring. Helping out at the event this year was a trip back in time of sorts for her because she came to Midnight Madness when she was a freshman, too. \n"It was just as packed then as it is now," she said, "but it was so much fun."\nSitting on a penny-machine fire truck outside of the store, freshman Owen Stevenson waited until around 11 p.m. for the next bus to take him back to campus. \nHe bought a couple of things that night for his computer and food for his room.\n"I heard about Midnight Madness at orientation," Stevenson said. "They said they were giving away free stuff at the raffle and that there were huge discounts on things. And who doesn't want to have a cool dorm?"\nBesides Midnight Madness at Wal-Mart, Stevenson said he did most of his shopping for his room after he arrived here in Bloomington at places like Target and Best Buy. \n"I moved out here from Silver Spring, Md., and so it was like a 13-hour drive," Stevenson said. "My mom and my dad were in the van also, so there wasn't much room for stuff otherwise. We brought all of my clothes, but we literally bought everything else out here. If I knew how good the deals were going to be tonight at Wal-Mart, I probably would have told my parents to stay a little longer and buy some stuff tonight instead of buying everything a few days ago."\nStevenson is just one of the many students who will be spending money at the onset of the school year.\nOnesti said she loves overall how businesses pick up in mid-August. \n"I call it the 'jumpstart' to Bloomington," she said. "It's like a renewal period because everyone's excited when the students are back."\n-- Contact staff writer Lori Snow at losnow@indiana.edu.