Getting Mauled at Mall Is Key to This Weekend : Retailers: Some store owners say Christmas sales so far leave something to be desired. They are hoping the last three days will be big ones for shoppers.

Donna Robb gave a big smile Thursday as she confidently packed a quilt for a customer at a South Coast Plaza apparel store. It was a knowing look that customers get a lot these days from Orange County retailers.

“Are we expecting a ton of customers this weekend? We sure are!” said Robb, a sales clerk at Laura Ashley Mother & Child. After all, with Christmas on Monday this year, “people feel they’ve got an extra day. All the last-minute shoppers will go crazy.”

The same bubbly exuberance could be heard up and down the aisles of malls throughout Orange County this week. Shopkeepers who have so far reported a lackluster holiday season have high hopes that their tills will jingle nonstop the final three days before Christmas.

“The month started a lot slower, but we’ve been getting real busy this past week,” said Cindy McKay, a district manager with Splash & Flash, a boutique at Newport Center/Fashion Island, which is running low on some popular, lower-priced items such as purses, T-shirts and nail-polish packs.

Many local retailers are hoping that the final weekend will produce a good season. Typically, malls are last-minute madhouses when Christmas falls right after a weekend. And the rush is expected to begin today, as many employees leave work early for the holidays.

In addition, last-minute shopping seems to be a growing trend. For the last several years, more and more customers have been tending to wait until the 11th hour, said Matthew Martinez, assistant manager at Burberry’s at South Coast Plaza.

“This mall has become a real last-minute type of mall,” said Martinez, a veteran sales associate who has worked at the Costa Mesa shopping center for several years. In fact, in years past, he said, sales have doubled the final two to three days before Christmas.

To be sure and catch those Christmas Eve shoppers, many retailers plan to extend their hours this weekend. Burberry’s, a pricey apparel store, plans to be fully staffed with eight sales clerks throughout the weekend and open its doors for a full 12 hours on both Saturday and Sunday, Martinez said.

At MainPlace/Santa Ana, Pacific Sunwear also is gearing up for the expected crunch. The surfwear shop plans to have six to eight sales people this weekend, instead of the usual four.

“On the whole, retail is lower this year,” said Tanya Rountree, assistant manager at the store. “But we expect to be very, very busy this weekend. We’re expecting it to make the whole season--definitely.”

To give customers that extra incentive, some local merchants are resorting to price-slashing during the crucial final week.

At The City Mall in Orange, for instance, Hatfield Jewelers on Monday put up huge signs, advertising half-price discounts on most of its merchandise.

“We didn’t plan on it, but business has not been so booming, so we’ve been running (the sale) for the entire week,” said the store’s manager, who asked not to be named. “We hope this will be one of the biggest weekends of the year.”

Other Orange County store owners have been watching sales figures nervously, hoping a slowing economy won’t hamper holiday buying. But many shoppers Thursday seemed more concerned with traffic congestion than the amount of cash they would spend.

“It’s a last-minute thing for me--it’s always that way,” said Greg Huthersall, who is in Orange County on vacation. So the 29-year-old bookkeeper from Canada spent Thursday at South Coast Plaza where he managed to find two gifts. But he’s sure he’ll be back Saturday--at least. “I think it’s going to be hell, but I enjoy it,” he said.

As dusty boxes of Christmas tree ornaments are pulled out of the closet this time of year, so are the usual complaints about a lack of parking and getting mauled at the malls.

“I’ve just got to get it done,” said Libby Rydell, 22, a student from Villa Park who started her holiday shopping this week and was only half-way done on Thursday. “It’ll be hectic and crowded, but I’ll be here.”