Initial fears that customers retrenched after the brisk start to the holiday season, quickly dissipated as the calendar wound its way toward Dec. 25. With several weeks of the holiday shopping season under their belts, retailers both nationally and locally are feeling far more confident that the season will bring the healthy sales increases anticipated back in November. Although traffic at Valley-area shopping centers slowed some in the days immediately following Black Friday, the official start to the holiday selling season, retailers and mall management report that customers are back in the stores and they are buying. “We’ve actually been very pleased by our customers’ response,” said David Senecal, general manager at JC Penney Co. in the Northridge Fashion Center. “We’re looking for it to be even better than we thought it would be (in November).” At Penney, where sales projections have been revised upwards, sales are strong in the home area, including heavyweight blankets, which, although packaged for gift giving, are also being snapped up for their energy savings potential, and men’s wear. “Our career apparel for ladies is also doing very well,” Senecal added. The Northridge center overall saw some slowdown in foot traffic during the weekdays that followed Black Friday, but by the second week in December, there was a steady stream of customers during the week as well. The mall for this season has extended its hours, opening at 8 a.m. “Our market research department did some research with a sample of 2000 customers, and they indicated they would like extended shopping hours,” said Daniyel Gordon, senior general manager of Northridge Fashion Center. “So we decided we would try it out this year and see how things went. And we’re seeing customers coming in early.” Although malls don’t acknowledge any connection, it’s probably no coincidence that many have added shopping conveniences like extra hours and new parking options to help combat the increased use of online shopping. Internet retailers have also become far more aggressive, offering free shipping and other incentives earlier in the season than they have in the past. comScore Networks, a Reston, Va.-based information provider, projects that online retail spending will increase 24 percent compared to the 2005 holiday season to $24.3 billion. It at first looked as though shoppers had put the brakes on shopping almost immediately following the Thanksgiving Day weekend. After an optimistic start, some pundits even began downgrading their projections for holiday sales increases, which range from about 3 percent nationally to as much as 8.5 percent for the Los Angeles County region. Then came November sales figures which showed lackluster growth at many stores, so much so that analysts concluded even a big Thanksgiving weekend would not compensate. But the worries were short lived as shoppers quickly found their way back to the malls in early December. Gift cards, which have accounted for a large percentage of holiday sales in recent years, have been especially strong at Westfield’s Topanga shopping center. “The Westfield gift card has been extremely successful and our numbers have increased more than 60 percent over last year,” said Sarah Richardson, marketing director for Westfield’s Topanga and neighboring Promenade center, “which tells me more customers are coming here and spending more money than last year.” Westfield is also seeing a huge increase in its Santa sales, more than double last year’s numbers. “So definitely we’re expecting a successful 2006 and an even better 2007,” Richardson said. Indeed, if traffic keeps up, stores could see an especially bright holiday this year, particularly because Christmas Day falls on Monday, providing an extra weekend for shopping. Some, however, do not think that the extra time will add to retail coffers. “Retailers should not expect that an extra shopping day this year will save them, because only 36.6 percent of shoppers said they expect to shop on Dec. 24,” said C. Britt Beemer, CEO of America’s Research Group who lowered his holiday sales increase forecast from 3.1 percent predicted in mid-November to 2.7 percent based on research the firm has conducted. Beemer’s research concluded that toys, electronics and jewelry will be the most active merchandise categories this season. The firm’s research also found that more shoppers were disappointed with the discounts stores have offered so far compared to shoppers last year, a sentiment that may confirm some suspicions that retailers will resort to heavy discounting before the season is through. Westfield Gets New Marketing Director Sarah Richardson has been appointed marketing director for Westfield Topanga and Promenade. Richardson joined Westfield Corp. in 2004 and was most recently regional assistant marketing director at Westfield Santa Anita. Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
