More than half of indoor tanning retailers say October met or exceeded business expectations, according to a SmartTan.com poll conducted the first week of November, with more than one-third of businesses saying the month exceeded expectations.

According to the poll, 35 percent said their stores were busier than expected and 21 percent said store traffic was about what they expected. The other 44 percent reported that October was less busy than expected.

“The economy is sending mixed signals right now, so this sort of poll result for October is about what you’d expect,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “The long-term look is still optimistic, I think, as industry leaders are still ramping up with expectations of a stronger 2012.”