Retailers Banking On Postwar Buying Spree : Economy: After a drop in taxable sales in the third quarter of 1990, county merchants anticipate an upturn with purchases of big-ticket items.

Sensing an impending turnaround in the sluggish local economy, Orange County merchants said Friday that they hoped the end of fighting in the Persian Gulf War would mark the opening shot for a new wave of consumer spending.

“We have been very, very busy since this morning,” said Jan West, manager of the Westminster Lace store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. “Customers are just out buying.”

Some retailers say that in recent weeks, customers starting returning to the stores as the war news got better and better. Now, with the cessation of hostilities, the trickle of shoppers could turn to a flood.

“The feeling has been a real showing of confidence in the last couple weeks,” said Ken Chilvers, president of the Irvine-based Wet Seal Inc. chain of women’s clothing stores. “There’s definitely pent-up demand out there. Once it was clear the war was going to be won by us, we noticed an uptick in traffic and an uptick in sales.”

James L. Doti, an economist and director of business forecasting at Chapman College, said the war’s end will spur sales of costly consumer items, chiefly new cars and major appliances. This could help reverse the current recession, which he said began late last year.

A decrease in sales of new and used cars, construction materials, furniture and other big-ticket items, contributed to the state’s having the smallest growth increase in eight years in the third quarter of 1990, according the State Board of Equalization. It is the first quarter that reflected the possible impact of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

In Orange County, third-quarter taxable sales fell for the first time since the last recession in 1982. The county registered a 0.4% decline in taxable sales for the three-month period.

The only other urbanized California county that suffered a decline in the same period was Alameda, which encompasses Oakland and East Bay of the San Francisco area. Taxable sales there were off 2.5%. Los Angeles County’s taxable sales increased by 0.8% during the same period.

While spending on big-ticket consumer items is likely to start increasing, Doti said that the Orange County economy may not rebound fully until the housing industry picks up with increased spending for construction materials.

But don’t tell that to the retailers who are braced for a big comeback.

Patricia Freeouf, manager of the Slavick’s Jewelers at South Coast Plaza, said she expects the public to go on a buying binge this weekend to celebrate the informal cease-fire in the Gulf.

“I really think we’ll be very busy this weekend,” she said. “Since the cease-fire, we’ve already seen a number of young ladies shopping and buying engagement rings in anticipation of their boyfriends’ return from the Gulf.”

As might be expected, toy stores report an upsurge in interest in military-related items. Outside Toys International in South Coast Plaza, a crowd gathered as store manager John Rauch noisily taxied a toy F-14 Tomcat jet fighter.

Extensive television coverage of the Persian Gulf War has raised sales of military toys by at least 50%, Rauch said. “It’s not just kids buying this stuff anymore. I’ve seen many men come out here to buy military aircraft toys for themselves,” he said.