Armed with gift cards, shoppers are keeping retailers out of the red
DOWNTOWN SM For Maria Urbina, Wednesday was a long day that began at 8 a.m.
But not in the office. The Santa Monican was among the hordes of shoppers that enjoyed an extra day off work by taking advantage of post- Christmas Day markdowns in retail stores across the city, staking out the stores early in the morning to grab the best bargains.
A shopping trip the day following Christmas is a tradition for Urbina, who after six hours, had accomplished the bulk of her retail excursion, spending a few minutes to catch her breath in front of the Mrs. Fields in Santa Monica Place before calling it a day; a day that involved transactions at GAP, Banana Republic and Macy’s, the latter of which she believed had the best deals. “(The sales) haven’t been that great,” Urbina said.
Unlike the post-Thanksgiving Day sales — which kick off the holiday shopping season — the day following Christmas is a time when many consumers exchange those unwanted gifts, redeem gift cards and stock up on holiday-themed items — such as greeting cards and wrapping paper — which are marked down by retailers.
While Christmas may be over, retailers have yet to finalize their total holiday season sales figures, mainly because of gift cards, which aren’t accounted for until they are redeemed.
“We’re looking at probably a busy week as people head to the mall, especially today to redeem the gift cards they received for Christmas,” said Erin Hershkowitz, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), which projected that one in five consumers would head to the malls on Wednesday. The ICSC is a global trade organization for the shopping center industry.
“Gift cards have transformed the holiday-shopping landscape and they have extended holiday shopping well past Christmas,” Michael P. Niemira, the chief economics and director of research for ICSC, said in a statement on Wednesday.
As projected by retail forecasters in the fall, the holiday shopping season started slower than in previous years, particularly in late November to early December. Experts have attributed the lack of spending to the subprime credit fallout and the weak housing market, making consumers a bit antsy about spending.
While business was slow for shopping centers in late November and early December, the year-over-year sales increase is expected to be close to 2.5 percent, thanks to a surge from last-minute shoppers, according to the ICSC.
“Even though we saw some softness through the months doesn’t mean we’re not going to see a good amount of sales the coming week,” Hershkowitz said.
Some Santa Monica retailers report surprisingly strong sales this winter.
Blonde, a women’s fashion boutique on Main Street, experienced a 35-percent increase in December sales from the same period last year.
“It’s not a good situation out there,” said Amber Farr, the owner of Blonde. “I thought it was going to be horrible.”
Other retailers note a more modest increase.
“It was better than last year,” said Stephanie Silverman, the manager of Subtle Tones, a women’s clothing store on Montana Avenue.
“We didn’t feel any of the issues going on around the country,” Silverman said on Wednesday. “There was no resistance to the prices or anything.”
Santa Monica Place had its last holiday shopping season before it closes temporarily for redevelopment on Jan. 31.
Macerich officials noted a high traffic count during the month of December, a high volume of shoppers starting with the day after Thanksgiving, despite the disproportionately small number of retailers in the mall.
“Overall, our traffic was in line with our expectations,” said Ashley Walkley, the marketing manager for Santa Monica Place. “We had a great season and our retailers have continued to have a great season as well.”
With the mall’s closing date fast approaching, some stores have already begun putting up closing sale signs, clearances which shoppers have happily enjoyed.
Alexis Kennedy, a high school student from Playa del Rey, sat on the ground in front of Forever 21, text-messaging as she was surrounded by a sea of shopping bags. After three hours of shopping in Downtown Santa Monica, Kennedy said she was ready to take on another mall to spend her Christmas money.
“Shopping’s been good,” Kennedy said. “Almost every store I’ve been in has had a sale.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.