Holidays
Early signs positive for annual spending splurge
November 26, 2005
"We shop and then we eat, then we shop and we eat, then we shop and we eat," said
Sandy Hull of Scottsdale, who had already been to Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart and planned
to hit Kohl’s, Toys "R" Us and Target before stopping for breakfast.
"It’s our food and fun day," Hull said, as she, her daughter and a friend stuffed
TVs into an SUV before dawn Friday. "We do it every year."
Tens of thousands of people poured into East Valley shopping centers Friday, looking
for bargains, bonding and a bit of holiday spirit on the traditional start of the
annual spending splurge.
Retail experts are all over the board as to whether shoppers were spendthrifts or
tightwads.
The National Retail Federation is predicting a 6 percent boost for the entire holiday
shopping season compared with the 2004 take.
Consolidated Credit Counseling, which does big business among those who overspend
at the holidays, said in the most recently released consumer survey that 62 percent
of Americans will spend less this year than last year.
It will be days before the retailers’ numbers tell the whole story
about Friday,
considered by some to be a bellwether for the rest of the season. But early signs
around the East Valley were positive.
The lines at the KB Toys at Superstition Springs Center were 25 to 30 deep all morning,
said mall marketing manager Jenny Burbach.
And teen retailer Zumiez at the east Mesa mall made its expected sales plan for
the whole day by 10:30 a.m., Burbach said.
At 8 a.m. at Scottsdale Fashion Square, the line at the Starbucks snaked around
the side of the building when mall marketing manager Chris Stallman queued up for
his morning brew.
By 11 a.m. the mall’s food court was packed, and most people hefted big bundles
from a variety of stores, Stallman said.
That’s a sign that people are traversing the whole mall instead of shopping at one
store for its advertised specials and leaving, he said.
At Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, people were in line by 2 a.m. for a prize-filled
balloon drop at 6 a.m., and all but a couple of parking lots were jammed full by
noon, said Denise Hart, marketing manager.
Mall traffic was heavier Friday than a year ago, Hart said, and shopkeepers were
smiling.
"All of our retailers said they are really doing well and beating their plans,"
she said.
Black Friday, so-named because it is supposedly the day when retailers’ bottom lines
move into the black, is no longer the busiest shopping day of the year. That honor
is reserved for the Saturday before Christmas when procrastinators swarm the shops.
But the day after Thanksgiving is still the most renowned shopping day — famous
for early bird sales and stunts.
Among them was Wal-Mart’s promise to meet or beat any other store’s specials on
Friday. The company discounted its already advertised $398 HP laptops an additional
20 bucks to honor that promise, said local Wal-Mart spokeswoman Delia Garcia.
Police broke up fights over the discounted computers in some Wal-Marts around the
country.
It didn’t happen here, Garcia said, but the laptops were long gone before dawn.
"People were here since last night waiting for the laptops," Garcia said from the
Supercenter in Tempe. "We handed out numbers and they were gone within the hour."
Bailey Freed of Chandler and her mom were among those who missed out on some advertised
specials Friday, but her spirits weren’t dampened.
"I stand in line and then they are out," said Freed of her early morning experiences
as she stood in line later at Chandler Fashion Center to buy a pretzel. "But it’s
mother-daughter time. We go for the fun."
At the Chandler mall’s food court, Michael Vail of Maricopa was less enthusiastic
as he minded the shopping bags while his wife stood in line for Cinnabons.
"I’m just here to keep the peace," he said. "There’s all this hype, but I haven’t
seen much to get up at 4 a.m. for."
That might be good news for those who passed on Black Friday shopping to watch football
or digest turkey leftovers at home.
While the experts can’t figure out how much you’ll spend this holiday shopping season,
the one thing they all agree on is that retailers will keep discounting stuff throughout
the season just to keep you buying something.
And however the Black Friday numbers shake out, the future still looks bright. In
2004, the three days after Thanksgiving made up 9.2 percent of the holiday sales,
down from 9.5 percent in 2003, according to the International Council of Shopping
Centers.
But during the week before Christmas 2004, shoppers did 22.5 percent of their holiday
spending.
