Brian Hoffman was surprised that more people weren’t lined up before his store, The Sports Dome, opened for business for the annual sidewalk sale Thursday in downtown Lawrence.

“Usually at 6 a.m., it’s 25, 30 people in the store, and there were five this year,” Hoffman said. “Just the number of people are down. Usually it’s just packed.”

Down the street at Urban Outfitters, Joseph Mabungu waited in line for about an hour to buy a box full of items that he and his sister had found.

“There’s a lot of people, but there’s less deals,” the Kansas University graduate and Kansas City resident said. “There’s still a lot of stores. It’s just that there was more stuff being sold (in previous years).”

But not all the Massachusetts Street shops were open for business.

“I liked that little card place down there,” said Vickie Smith, referring to The Palace Cards & Gifts store that closed its downtown location this summer. Smith and her friend Tammy Scott work in Topeka and have been shopping at the sidewalk sale for about 10 years.

Both Smith and Scott had a few bags filled with clothes, shoes, purses and even a pair of scissors.

“I think there’s actually some better deals,” Smith said.

Some rain hit the area in the early afternoon, but most shoppers didn’t seem deterred by the sprinkles.

“I’m not going to melt,” Scott said. “My hair’s just going to get frizzy.”

The two actually liked the weather better this year.

“It’s cooler,” Scott said. “We’re not sweating to death.”

Hoffman said while his store has seen less foot traffic, the sidewalk sale was pretty steady for a down economy.

“We have pretty good deals,” he said. “With the economy and winning a national championship, everybody bought 12 T-shirts and then the economy tanks. You don’t need a KU T-shirt.”

But shoppers were out to do their part to help out the stores.

“I have no problem waiting (in line),” Mabungu said. “It’s good for the economy. There’s still a lot of good stuff to get. You just have to look for it.”