(WSIL) -- As many receive their stimulus checks, home improvement stores are seeing a spike in sales and services.
Home improvement stores like Southside Lumber in Herrin say business has been good for the last two months during the "stay at home" order.
"We've had a lot of walk-in trade. We're still doing the contractor trades as well, but it seems like our walk-in trade is really picked up," said Southside Lumber assistant manager Greg Prince.
Prince says the demand has been high for many products.
"Everybody's at home going, 'What do we need to do at home? I want to sit outside because I can't go nowhere else.' So we're seeing our deck packages - those are going up. People are coming in, 'Hey, we want to figure this deck.' We'll figure the deck and go over the products with them," he said.
Decking projects are also popular over at Marion's Stotlar Lumber.
"Decking material. Lot of new composite decking material. We've been selling a lot of paint and repair products for plumbing, electrical and so forth," said Stotlar Lumber owner Rob Stotlar.
Local contractors have been busy.
"A covered back porch deck, we've done a few interior remodels, we've got a garage we're getting ready to start a new construction garage down at Lake Egypt," said Violett Construction owner Ryan Violett.
But both stores say there's no better time than now to start your home projects.
"People are laid off right now, or at home with their kids, and they want to utilize that time. And that's kinda like the work ethic in southern Illinois. I don't think people like to just sit around, they like to keep going and keep busy," said Stotlar.
You may recall Americans received a similar stimulus payment in 2008 during the great recession.
According to a study by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, nearly half said they planned to pay down debt, nearly a third planned to save it, and 20% of people surveyed said they planned to go shopping.
