The holiday shopping season took off last week as stores small and large throughout San Luis Obispo saw increased foot traffic, higher sales totals than 2012 and long lines, including an hour-and-a-half checkout wait at Ambiance. Some downtown businesses attribute the increases to a perceived growth in tourism throughout the holiday weekend and many small shops noticed customers showing up earlier in the morning. Whiz Kids! grew sales over last year’s and Fromagerie Sophie, which opened on Wednesday, Nov. 20, had a successful start while others including EcoBambino and Hands Gallery benefitted from increased foot traffic despite the absence of advertised sales.