Customers aren’t likely to notice the difference, but Red Shoes Home Goods is one of many retailers to cut back on what would be considered a normal inventory for December.

That’s because, also like many retailers, Red Shoes finished last year’s holiday shopping season with more products than expected, and owner Catherine Thursby doesn’t want to make the same mistake again.

“I’m just trying to be conservative, really buying what I think goes well here,” Thursby said. “I’m really consciously thinking about it, whereas before I would just buy what I loved. Now, I’m really trying to pay attention to (shopping and economic trends).”

Of course, nestled in a space that Thursby estimates to be less than 1,000 square feet, fewer products aren’t likely to leave gaps. Red Shoes sells unique home, art and clothing items out of a homey atmosphere on South Ashley Street.

“We didn’t buy as much as we have in years past, but our shop still looks packed,” Thursby said.

There’s reason for hope this year, Thursby said, as post-Thanksgiving sales have at least been on par with last year’s numbers, and some items have been flying out of the shop.

“We’ve been selling out of a lot of different types of ornaments, jewelry and art work,” Thursby said. “I hand-make pillows, and we’re selling out of those.”

As a tiny retail store, Thursby said she knows her business will be tossed around in the economic winds, and she just tries not to worry about it.

“I don’t expect anything, I really don’t,” she said. “I just think it will be OK, and (so far) it was. We’ve had the same numbers we had last year, and I think that’s pretty good.”

With little money to spend on marketing, Thursby has leveraged the Internet to spread the news about her business as much as possible, she said.

“I’ve been doing a lot of e-mail blasts, blogging as much as I can, Twittering,” she said. “I’m just trying to generate as much traffic as I can.”