NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Americans may be used to living with the color-coded terror-threat alerts, but the jitters don't go away easily.

At Safer America, a Manhattan-based retailer specializing in homeland security and personal protection, CEO Lionel Uzzan said his staff was flooded with calls about the company's bomb detection and radiation detection devices following last week's train blasts in Madrid.

"Last week was exceptionally busy for us," said Uzzan. "We got a lot of calls from businesses and regular people asking specifically for those products. In fact, our overall sales last week Friday jumped 150 percent from Thursday."

Uzzan, however, said he hadn't anticipated the heightened interest in bomb and radiation detectors. "Until now our more popular selling items have been gas masks and home survival kits. This trend was unexpected for us."

Unexpected, but perhaps not entirely surprising.

According to a February Gallup Poll survey, about 80 percent of those asked said they expect another terror attack in the United State.

While the national terror alert is currently at "yellow," or an "elevated" status, New York City has stayed on "orange" alert, or "high" since Sept 11, 2001. The city over the weekend also conducted the largest-ever drill to prepare for a large-scale emergency in the event of a major terrorist threat, although the city's Office of Emergency Management said the drill "was not planned as a result of the Madrid bombings."

Dr. Rona Fields, a psychologist and expert on terrorism with the Center of Advanced Defense Studies at George Washington University, said personal safety and the concern for the wellbeing of their families is likely to remain a top priority for Americans.

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"Most Americans who are aware of the situation in Madrid are probably considering those attacks as a precursor of an even bigger attack here in the United States, possibly aimed at our infrastructure," said Fields.

"The second warning that we can take from the Madrid blasts is that as we get closer to our elections, the hazard increases of some type of attack to determine the outcome of the election," she added.

Fields said she expects many more people will buy protection-type gear like gas masks and survival kits out of a sense of unease and insecurity.

Safer America's Uzzan said the company is already facing some supply issues, having sold out of a few items such as flashlights and radios from its family survival kit.

The company, which was founded a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, sells a variety of safety kits designed for individuals, families and even for people who work in high-rise buildings, priced between $350 to $1,000.

While Uzzan would not divulge sales numbers, he expects improved sales this year to make up for a shortfall last year.

"Obviously we hope nothing is going to happen but maybe being prepared will make people less worried," he said.