Hours of Scouring Stores for Bargains Will End in Fatigue for Most Shoppers

For shop-aholic Arda Eksigian, the upcoming holiday season gets the adrenaline pumping.

“It’s exciting to shop the malls when they’re crowded,” Eksigian, 25, said last week while browsing in the Brea Mall. “It gives you that shopping rush.”

She likes shopping year-round but now is the time it becomes fun, she says.

Eksigian is a rare breed.

Experts say most holiday shoppers will eventually suffer from fatigue because of the grueling pounding of hard floors, store after store after store.

That’s what happened to mother and daughter June Weaver, 63, and Pam vonRanson, 43, who spent five hours in the Brea Mall last week getting most of their Christmas shopping done.

“We’re dead tired,” said vonRanson, carrying three filled-to-the-rim Nordstrom bags.

While the exhaustion was evident in their tired-looking eyes and limp arms, their feet felt the worst, they said.

Likewise, 12-year-old Staci Walsh of San Dimas said her feet ached as if they had migraines.

“My feet are killing me,” she said, slumped on a bench in front of a toy store. Shopping in tight pumps for four hours, she admitted, as she did last week, isn’t such a good idea.

Podiatrists agree.

“People have to realize that they’ll be doing a lot of standing and that’s harder on the body and feet than walking,” said David Sabet, a foot doctor in Laguna Beach. “You need to wear very comfortable shoes--soft, well-supported, cushioned ones.

“When your feet begin pulsing and throbbing and they feel like they’re going to explode, you’ve hit your limit,” he said, adding that then you need to take a break and rest or massage your feet.

Sabet recommends wearing soft leather walking shoes with arch supports; shopping in the morning when your feet aren’t swollen, and breaking up the shopping spree into several short trips instead of racing through a single, eight-hour marathon session.

“Lots of people are done in from shopping all day,” he said, adding that as a result, many shoppers end up in his office as patients. “You can develop ingrown toenails, blisters, bruises and swelling.”

Kathleen Evans, 38, of Signal Hill, who was shopping at South Coast Plaza recently, said that besides those physical ailments, she suffers from stress, frustration and shortness of breath, and is prone to temper tantrums as she shops crowded malls during the holiday season.

Evans said shoppers should leave their children at home, to keep from going crazy.

Todd Roorda, 29, of Placentia suggests that shoppers map out their strategy before heading to the malls. He spent 2 1/2 hours going from one end of the Brea Mall to the other four times, on both floors. That’s a total of six miles, according to mall officials.

“Know where you’re going before you take off and have a good idea of what you will buy first,” Roorda said.

Suzanne Goya, 27, of Long Beach, an avid South Coast Plaza shopper, agrees. She advises that shoppers take a day off work to shop the malls, avoiding the weekend crowds. And, she says: “At least go knowing what you want.”

Physical preparation for a long day of shopping should include leg stretches and toe curls, said Bruce M. Albert, an Orange County orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist. He recommends heel, calf and tendon pulls so leg muscles won’t tighten up.

“Some people, especially those who only go shopping during the holidays, should try short-term preconditioning like riding a bike or stair climbing,” Albert said, adding that three to four stretches on each leg will help deter fatigue.

“If you plan it all out, you shouldn’t get tired,” said Laura Polo, a self-proclaimed die-hard shopper. “And take little breaks.”

In the quest to attract shoppers, many Orange County malls are offering special services to help the grumpy forget about becoming tired.

Mission Viejo Mall, for instance, will offer a hospitality suite where shoppers can drop off their packages, drink coffee and even catch a holiday movie such as “Scrooge.”

Some malls, including Brea and Fashion Island, will have foot-massage machines in the corridors. Fashion Island will have attendants ready to carry shoppers’ bags to their cars and, like South Coast Plaza, will provide valet parking.

Most malls also have information booths to inform shoppers of the best places to park.

The least congested shopping hours are on weekdays before noon and after 7 p.m., mall officials said.

Glen Anderson, 39, who did all his Christmas shopping last week, said the best shopping advice he ever got was: “Shop early to avoid the crowds.”

Why Shoppers Choose a Particular Store

Offers everyday low prices 22.7% Larger selection 17.2% Convenient location 16.5% Price promotions, markdowns 16.3% Better quality merchandise 8.9% Offers more exclusive merchandise 5.1% Emphasis on customer service 3.4% Other reasons 9.9%

Source: Deloitte & Touche, Trade Retail & Distribution Services Group Where Consumers Plan to Holiday Shop

Department, specialty store 50.0% Discount, mass merchants 35.2% Catalogue 5.4% Don’t know 9.4%

Source: Deloitte & Touche, Trade Retail & Distribution Services Group