Holiday shopping has picked up in downtown McAllen now that the borders are open for non-essential travel.

Downtown McAllen business Casa Kevin is just one store that has seen the improvement. Manager Maria Cruz says that not only has holiday shopping increased this year, but sales have especially gone up since the border opened for non-essential travel.

“It was very noticeable,” Cruz said. “The change is much better. And we expect it to get better this year because now there are more sales––it’s gone up more than ten percent, so we are pleased, very happy.”

Other businesses said they were expecting more of an increase after the border opened, adding that they are hopeful business will pick up over time.