Shop owner Susan O’Donnell says Bristol’s retailers desperately needed something that would create a lasting buzz this holiday season, something that would go far beyond the annual Black Friday hoopla.

After all, in an economy that is still sputtering, potential shoppers might need an extra incentive to be convinced to open their wallets.

So O’Donnell and her husband, Nick Kearney, who own a home furnishings store and apparel shop on State Street, started a raffle, and through the local merchants association convinced about 60 other retailers to join in. Now shoppers making purchases at participating stores receive raffle tickets along with their receipts – and a chance to win as much as $3,000 just before Christmas.

“It’s created a sense of excitement,” O’Donnell said recently. “There’s definitely a buzz in the air to think [customers] could win enough to cover all their holiday spending.”

In an economy that’s been slow to bounce back, the Downtown Bristol Merchants Association is one of numerous small, local retailer groups that are ramping up marketing efforts to draw consumers in the season that counts the most.

“This year, we’ve got to do something to get noticed,” said Jerry Meyer, executive director of the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.

In East Greenwich, shops along Main Street have pooled their money for an advertising campaign they couldn’t afford alone.

In southern reaches of the state, the Southern Rhode Island Newspapers group is running an advertising promotion that offers “hometown bucks” that provide customer discounts at participating local businesses, which in turn receive advertising discounts.

On Hope Street in Providence, trees that line the retail district are lit again with Christmas lights, and the Hope Street Merchants Association has scheduled some promotional events.

“It’s critical for the merchants to step up and do what they can,” said Nanda Head, president of the association. “And the ambiance on the street has helped for sure.”

In many retail districts, it’s actually the shoppers who are being asked to take steps.

Merchant groups at several locations have scheduled holiday “strolls,” complete with an appearance from Santa, carolers and other activities.

For instance, stores along Providence’s Hope Street offered free refreshments, workshops, special sales and a shuttle-bus connection to retailers in downtown Providence at a “winter stroll” on Dec. 5.

Smaller, independent retailers have little choice but to organize shopping events at a time when consumers are worried about spending, says C. Britt Beemer, chairman of the Charlestown, S.C.-based retail marketing firm, America’s Research Group Ltd.

“Either offer deals and a pleasant experience, or there will be no shoppers,” Beemer said last week. “You have to create events to bring people in. It’s a successful strategy.”

The early indicators for retailers big and small weren’t exactly stellar, however.

The National Retail Federation said more people went shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend than the previous year, but they spent less as they looked for bargains.

Overall spending increased 0.5 percent to an estimated $41.2 billion over the four-day period.

Paul DeRoche, director of the Rhode Island Retail Federation, last week couldn’t immediately provide regional consumer-spending statistics for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but he wasn’t encouraged by what he saw in a tour of sales floors on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

“There were a lot of people out there in the morning, but as the day wore on, the crowd dissipated,” DeRoche said. “And sales were soft.”

All the more reason to entice shoppers with special events.

Members of the Hill & Harbor Merchants Association in East Greenwich already had success with summertime strolls for shopping along Main Street. Now the association has extended the strolls through the holiday shopping season.

Scheduled for Thursdays in December, each stroll will have a different theme, such as ladies’ night or last-minute shopping, at which items might be gift-wrapped already.

Diane Villari, owner of Hair Plus salon and an association member, isn’t sure the strolls will be successful. The business group tried it last year. “We had a lot of bad weather every Thursday,” Villari recalled.

With the economy still sagging, Jeanne Budnick, co-owner of Pepin Lumber in Woonsocket, said it’s crucial for small businesses to combine forces in some respects, even if there are competing businesses.

“It’s only good business,” says Budnick, a member of the Blackstone Valley Independent Business Alliance, which has its own stroll planned for downtown Woonsocket. “Nobody’s setting the world on fire right now. You have to work twice as hard to make money to survive.”

In Bristol, O’Donnell said she and her husband – both of whom own Sue Casa and Striper Moon on State Street – got the idea for the raffle during a trip to Nantucket, last year where raffles are a big attraction during holiday events.

“I thought it would be a fun thing for Bristol to do,” she said

She wasn’t sure how the idea would be received by other businesses, so the Downtown Bristol Merchants Association kept participation affordable.

It proved popular. About 60 businesses threw in about $100 each, and more wanted to join after the deadline, O’Donnell said.

Participating businesses display a blue snowflake sign in their front window, and shoppers receive raffle tickets based on how much they spend – one for every $25.

O’Donnell said she estimates about 120,000 tickets will be issued before the public drawing on Dec. 20, when a portion of State Street will be closed. Ticket holders must be present at the drawing to win.

It’s too early to tell if the raffle is helping boost holiday sales in Bristol, but businesses have reported that customers are asking for the tickets when they make purchases.

And O’Donnell expects the promotion to be even bigger next year.

Lindsay Green, a graphic designer and DBMA member, predicted the concept would be copied in nearby cities and towns in future years.

“This is such a cool idea,” she said. “It’s going to take off because people really don’t have to do anything to win.”