Holiday shoppers hit area stores in droves
Jessi Sessions held up a pink Mickey Mouse T-shirt today at Disney Store at Las Vegas Premium Outlet mall, thinking it would make a nice Christmas gift for her niece. And buying it before 10 a.m., got her 20 percent off.
The high school teacher left her house in Bullhead City, Ariz., at 3 a.m. to make it to Las Vegas in time for door-buster sales on Black Friday, the day that traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season. She was headed from the outlet mall to Galleria at Sunset mall, then on to some big-box stores and Old Navy.
"We come up here every year to do our Christmas shopping," Sessions said. "We don't have outlet malls in Bullhead City. We don't even have a mall. We just have Wal-Mart and Target."
Some 134 million Americans are expected to flood the malls and shopping centers this weekend, starting on Black Friday, when retailers supposedly go from the red to the black.
If the early-morning shoppers are any indication, itуs going to be a busy shopping season, said Heather Valera, marketing director for Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson.
She said more than 200 people were lined up by 4 a.m. at Kohl's and JC Penney.
"It's definitely an increase in traffic from last year," Valera said. "I expect it to be good all weekend. Friday's a good indicator for the weekend and the holiday, if it continues the way it started."
Heavy traffic may not necessarily translate into increased sales. The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday sales will decrease 1 percent this year to $437.6 billion. The holiday sales forecast is based on an economic model using indicators such as housing data, unemployment and previous monthly retail sales reports and includes retail industry sales from November and December.
The Retail Association of Nevada is forecasting $1.2 billion in holiday spending throughout the state, based on the latest Gallup poll that showed American adults will spend an average of $638 on Christmas gifts. That figure was revised downward from $740 in an earlier poll and is about equal to the spending prediction of $639 reported in December 2008.
Black Friday bargains on toys, apparel, electronics and appliances had many Americans leaving their Thanksgiving dishes in the sink and heading to the stores early Thursday night.
Disney Store manager Geraldine Martinez said she opened the doors an hour and a half before the planned midnight opening Thursday.
"We had people outside, walking around the mall. I figured we might as well pick up that business," Martinez said today as she helped customers find toys and reminded them of the extra discount before 10 a.m. "At midnight, the (checkout) line wrapped around to the door. We stopped traffic."
The hot-selling toy for boys was a 20-piece car set that sold out at 20 percent off the $100 price.
For girls, Disney Store was selling an eight-doll princess set from the movie, "The Princess and the Frog," for $30 off the normal $100 price, plus the additional 20 percent off before 10 a.m.
Martinez said she expects the rush to continue throughout the weekend. Staffing at the store was ramped up to about 15 employees, compared with five on a normal day, she said.
A poll from Consumer Reports found that just as many adults plan to shop on Black Friday (28 percent) as they do on either the following Saturday or Sunday (29 percent).
Retailers in all sectors reported strong crowds, with high-definition televisions, laptops, winter coats and Zhu-Zhu pets among the most popular items.
"It's been crazy in a good way," said Jim McMichael senior marketing manager for Fashion Show, Boulevard and Meadows malls in Las Vegas. "As far as the Boulevard, we saw strong crowds as early as 3 a.m. for Old Navy and 4 a.m. for Sears. Same at Meadows. We had people waiting for Macyуs at 5 a.m. People are hitting the clothing retailers hard."
Still, national mall operators said more shoppers were sticking to making purchases in cash and debit cards instead of credit. Worries about jobs clearly were on shoppersу minds. Most people buying for themselves were picking up practical things that were deeply discounted such as pillows, pajamas and coffee makers, according to stores and analysts.
"With the layoff there have been a few cutbacks, but with the great sales they're offering this year, I think it's, overall, going to be a great Christmas for my two granddaughters," said Ernest Bell of Marietta, Ga., who was laid off in April from his job as an information technology support representative and was at the local Walmart on Friday.
McMichael said retailers cut back on their inventory from last year, which means the bargains are going to be available for a limited time only. If you pass on them early, they probably won't be there when you go back, he said.
"Retailers are aggressive with their discounts, but they donуt have the inventory of last year to work through," the mall marketing manager said. "They're not going to have the quantity to have heavy discounts and go deeper and deeper through the holiday season."
McMichael said it's hard to measure how much people are spending, but he could tell that sales were strong from a promotion that offers customers a $10 gift card for purchases of $100 or more.
"We've had a line at that redemption location since we opened this morning," McMichael said from the Fashion Show. "We know theyуre spending. Some of them had well over several hundred dollars in merchandise receipts."
Retailers "came out swinging" for Black Friday and budget-focused shoppers seemed to be pleasantly surprised with the deals, National Retail Federation Tracy Mullin said. Many retailers will extend those into today and even Sunday, she said.
Gina Brinker of Las Vegas only waited until 8 a.m Friday to start shopping, though. She planned to visit Town Square and Galleria malls to look at purses and sweatshirts for her mother and aunts.
"I don't like crowds a lot," Brinker said. "I kind of waited. You wouldn't see me out at 4 a.m. or even midnight."
Traffic was backed up to Las Vegas Boulevard on the one-lane flyover into Town Square by Friday afternoon, with Metro police officers directing cars in and out of packed parking lots.
Shoppers at Fry's Electronics were pushing carts loaded with big-screen televisions, laptops, computer accessories and audio and video equipment. Hot deals at the door included a pair of Kinyo audio speakers for $9.99, a nine-piece haircut kit for $14.99 and CD-DVD travel case for $2.99.
Gene Rahenkamp of Las Vegas was disappointed that Fry's was sold out of Norelco shavers advertised for $24.99, the only item he wanted to buy at the store. He felt deceived by the $40 shavers sitting in their place that he took to the counter.
"There'll be another sale between now and Christmas," Rahenkamp said. "I did go out to Tuesday morning and walked right in and got what I wanted." He bought Disney video and music players for $20 that were normally $100.
A stockroom employee at Fry's said the store was down to fewer than 20 of the 46-inch Samsung LCD TVs late this afternoon and that most of the sales items were gone within an hour and a half of the store opening at 5 a.m.
Sally Emr, visiting Las Vegas from Malibu Beach, Calif., said she'd never been to Fry's Electronics and wanted to see their selection of flat-screen televisions.
"I've never shopped on Black Friday. Is that what it's called? I don't think it's too bad. I'm used to crowds," Emr said. "In fact, it makes it more exciting than walking into a store with no business going on. It's good to see the business."
Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Black Friday slide show
