Saturday December 18, 5:50 pm Eastern Time
U.S. consumers cram stores in sprint to Christmas
By Susan Kelly
CHICAGO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. consumers packed the nation's stores on Saturday to
indulge in the annual ritual of last-minute holiday gift buying in a shopping season that shows
every sign of finishing on a strong note, marketers said.
''This is shaping up to be one of the best Christmas seasons in recent memory,'' said John
Konarski, senior vice president for research at the International Council of Shopping Centers
in New York.
Sales are running 6-1/2 percent ahead of the same period last year and show no sign of slowing, he said.
With clear skies across much of the country and only a slight chill in the air, shoppers endured clogged parking lots and long
lines at check-out Saturday to spend wealth earned in the ninth year of a near-record U.S. expansion.
''It's crowded. People are carrying lots of packages and making multiple trips to their cars,'' said Carrie Marker, marketing
director at Independence Center mall in Missouri.
After the selling season started strong in November, mild winter weather caused some concern about sales in early December,
especially for apparel, but light snowfalls the past two weeks seem to have re-energized shoppers in the central states.
''Last Saturday, people were parking in the grass,'' said Marker.
Lines to see Santa Claus snaked through mall aisles. The wait was one-hour, 45 minutes by midday at Lakeside center in
Sterling Heights, Michigan, said general manager James Gerety.
At Fair Oaks shopping center in Fairfax, Virginia, more than 200 people were waiting to chat with the big elf at 11:30 a.m.
(1630 GMT), mall officials said. Sales of gift wrap were up 25 percent to date over last year.
The Saturday before Christmas is often the busiest shopping day of the year and could prove so again this year, though some
analysts looked for even bigger days next week because shoppers have more time than usual since the holiday is fully a week
away.
''It's going to be either a typical or better Saturday before Christmas. Based on the trends so far, we don't see it slowing right
up until the last minute on Friday,'' said Dennis Tietjen, marketing director for Smith Haven Mall in central Long Island, New
York.
Men, who have earned a reputation as last-minute shoppers, were beginning to appear in stores, retailers said.
''Today I'm seeing more men in the shopping center, though there is a mix,'' said Gerety. ''I'm also seeing more students in the
shopping center who are home for the holidays. People are seriously buying, not browsing. Everyone seems to be carrying
bags.''
Managers of stores from Nordstrom to The Sharper Image said many customers reported browsing for items on Web sites
before coming into the stores to buy them.
Women's apparel and jewelry were making strong late-season showings, possibly because more men have entered the malls,
the retailers said.
''All the jewelry stores, including the department stores, seem to be doing well. Anything with diamonds is doing well,'' said
Mike McAvinue, general manager of Westfarms mall in Farmington, Connecticut.
Analysts said strong sales of jewelry reflect the robust economy and one special factor.
''There are a lot of millennium engagements,'' said Judi Lewis, marketing director of Fair Oaks mall.
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