WATERLOO -- With four school-age daughters, Amanda Qualley could sure benefit from the statewide sales tax holiday Friday and Saturday.

When asked if she would, however, she gave a different answer: "Probably not.

"Too many people," Qualley, from Cedar Falls, explained. "I avoid the crowds. I'm going to try to go (tonight), I think."

The state sales tax holiday applies to most clothing items. Most accessories, like purses, wallets and sunglasses, are not covered by the sales tax holiday.

For retailers, the sales tax holiday signifies the beginning of the back-to-school shopping season. That means a busy weekend for them, and the crowds that Qualley so dearly wants to avoid.

"A lot of stores notice a heavy boost in traffic, and an increase in sales," said Billy Buckridge, marketing manager for College Square Mall in Cedar Falls. "In fact, one particular store says that they depend on the Iowa sales tax holiday moreso than what they do on Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.

College Square Mall will again be giving out $10 gift cards for free gas at the College Square Hy-Vee gas station, a promotion the mall has done the last two years, Buckridge said. Shoppers who spend $150 or more at any College Square Mall business, not necessarily and sales tax-exempt items, can get the cards.

Last year, College Square gave out 400 of the gas gift cards, and had to resupply their stock of the cards twice to give out that many, Buckridge said. The mall started this year with 400 of the cards on hand and started giving them out Wednesday. They will be distributed while supplies last, Buckridge said.

"That's been so successful for the last two years, that we've been asked to do it again," Buckridge said. "Shoppers seem to really respond to that and to like that with the rising gas prices.

"And we have many of them. In fact, we've upped the number each year because it's been so successful and so popular."

Crossroads Center in Waterloo also will coincide a promotion for Cotton Inc. with the sales tax holiday. Shoppers who spend at least $200 on cotton or cotton-blend products will receive a $20 gift check redeemable at The Buckle, Old Navy, Scheels, Vanity or Younkers in the mall, said Mary Kroeger, marketing specialist leasing manager for Crossroads.

Crossroads has a limited number of the gift checks, and the promotion is good while supplies last.

The Waterloo SuperTarget store isn't planning any promotional events on top of the sales tax holiday, executive team lead Bob Myshka said. But the store will have extra staff on hand to deal with the volume and keep the shelves and racks filled with products, "because it will be selling a lot faster than normal."

Even though it kicks off stores' back-to-school shopping, the sales tax holiday does not cover school supplies, backpacks or electronics -- a point that Buckridge said is sometimes brought up by customers.

But, Buckridge said, clothes seem to be people's main expense when getting children ready for the school year.

Sammi Van Arsdale, 15, from Waterloo, plans to shop for clothes -- "clothes, shoes, bags, whatever," she said. "I'm a shopper, so pretty much anything.

"School's about to start back up, so I'm definitely going to need some clothes," Van Arsdale said. She did not know how much she would spend. "It depends on how much I have to spend. If I've got $200, I'm going to spend $200. If I've got $500, I'm going to spend $500."

Contact Jeff Wilford at (319) 291-1423 or jeff.wilford@wcfcourier.com.

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Here are the items that are not taxed Friday and Saturday:

Bow ties

Scarves

Ties

Adult diapers

Aerobic clothing

Antique clothing

Aprons, household

Athletic socks

Baby bibs, clothes & diapers

Bandanas

Bathing suits, caps, cover-ups

Belts with buckles attached

Bibs

Blouses

Boots, general purpose

Bowling shirts

Bow ties

Bras

Bridal apparel, sold not rented

Camp clothing

Caps & hats, including sports

Chef's uniforms

Children's novelty costumes

Choir and altar clothing

Clerical vestments

Coats & wraps

Corsets & corset laces

Costumes, sold not rented

Coveralls

Cowboy boots

Diapers, diaper inserts (adult and baby, cloth or disposable)

Dresses

Dress gloves, shoes

Ear muffs

Employee uniforms, but not athletic or protective

Formal clothing, sold not rented

Fur coats & stoles

Galoshes

Garters and garter belts

Girdles, bras & corsets

Gloves (generally) such as dress, garden, leather, work

Golf clothing, caps, dresses, shirts, skirts, pants

Graduation caps & gowns, sold not rented

Gym suits and uniforms

Hats

Hiking boots

Hooded shirts and sweatshirts

Hosiery, including support hosiery

Jackets

Jeans

Jerseys for other than athletic wear

Jogging apparel, bras

Knitted caps, hats

Lab coats

Leather clothing

Leg warmers

Leotards & tights

Lingerie

Men's formal wear, sold not rented

Neckwear, including ties and scarves

Nightgowns & nightshirts

Overshoes and rubber shoes

Pajamas

Pants

Panty hose

Ponchos

Prom dresses

Raincoats, rainhats & ponchos

Religious clothing

Riding pants

Robes

Rubber thongs, flip-flops

Running shoes without cleats

Sandals

Scarves

Scout uniforms

Shawls & wraps

Shirts

Shoe inserts & laces

Shoes without cleats

Shoulder pads for dresses, jackets, etc.

Shorts

Skirts

Slacks

Sleepwear, nightgowns, pajamas

Slippers

Slips

Sneakers

Socks

Stockings

Suits, slacks & jackets

Support hose

Suspenders

Sweatshirts

Sweaters

Swim suits, trunks

Tennis skirts, dresses, shoes

Ties

Tights

Trousers

Tuxedos, but not cufflinks or rentals

Underclothes

Underpants

Undershirts

Uniforms for work and school

Veils

Vests, general, to wear with suits

Walking shoes

Windbreakers

Work clothes & uniforms