Jun. 10--Sunglasses and fancy cosmetics don't fly off the shelves at Orlando International Airport these days. And fewer people are splurging on a Cinnabon or frozen yogurt. Even the shoeshine guy is hurting; tips are meager, if they come at all.

In short, it's not easy being a retailer or concessionaire these days at OIA. With passenger traffic down by about 12 percent since October, the customer base is shrinking. And, thanks to the recession, it's spending less.

"It's slow. Real slow," said Pat Sidell, who charges $5 for a shoeshine at his three-chair stand near the ticket counters. "It's just bad."

According to reports filed with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, many merchants' sales are hurting. Gross concessions sales were down 13 percent in the six months ending in March. Only a few businesses are booming. Most notably: The company that runs the recently introduced Clear service, which offers pre-registered travelers express passage through security checkpoints, grossed $17.9 million, up 143 percent.

Particularly hard hit are impulse-buy shops. Perfumania reported sales down 18percent. MindWorks, which sells novelty toys and hand-held electronics, was down 24percent. A TCBY yogurt shop reported a 39 percent drop. Sales were even worse at one Cinnabon store: down 54 percent.

The Oakley sunglasses shop, which relies on a loyal base of both business and vacation travelers, has had to cut and readjust hours -- like many other shops -- amid a 15 percent decline in sales.

"I've talked to other people and managers in different stores here and in the Florida Mall: Everybody is hurting," said store co-manager Ryan Pinkert. "Every day is down. There are fewer stores making the same numbers as last year."

More than 80 contractors operate more than 110 stores, restaurants and other outlets throughout the OIA passenger-terminal complex.

But the retailers' struggles aren't yet affecting the agency that runs the airport. Though the aviation authority has seen revenue drop because of lower passenger traffic, its income from concessionaires -- which makes up about 11 percent of its budget -- is holding steady.

That's because most retailers' contracts require minimum monthly payments regardless of sales, with additional fees when gross sales top a certain amount. That threshold is high enough that GOAA's revenue has not been affected much.

As a result, GOAA collected $16 million from concessionaires in the first six months of this fiscal year, down just 2 percent, if revenue from the Clear program is excluded.