Looking for a holiday break

“We’ve been in a financial crisis for so long, I can’t let it drag me down any more,’’ said Dellacona, plunking down $3,000 to buy the high-end furniture and taking advantage not only of the 6.25 percent sales tax holiday for items under $2,500 but also of the warehouse’s own reduced rates aimed at attracting customers. “You have to live.’’

The mood was more restrained at the South Bay shopping center in Dorchester, with some shoppers saying they have become more frugal and were limiting purchases to a single item, such as a computer or television.

“I want to stay cautious in case anything happens in this economy,’’ said Roxana Hidalgo, 55, of South Boston, a clerical worker at two Boston hospitals. Hidaldo was looking for a refrigerator yesterday. She compared the prices at Best Buy with those at Sears and Home Depot, but ultimately decided not to make a purchase.

No statewide retail sales figures were tabulated yesterday, but some shop owners said traffic appeared slower than in past years, and the whipsawing markets and slowing economy had caused them to lower their expectations. Others said they were experiencing brisk traffic and anticipated record-breaking sales over the weekend.

“My enthusiasm has been tempered by economic reality,’’ said David Moser, owner of the North Billerica furniture warehouse, noting that he and many other retailers have had to cut prices to get people in the door even with the tax holiday. “It’s not a sales strategy, it’s a survival strategy,’’ he said.

But Barry Joseph, owner of bar stool and dining set retailer Chair Fair, said his worries about how consumers might react to volatile market subsided yesterday. “We’re having a phenomenal day,’’ said Joseph, who has stores in Braintree and Everett.