Bargain-Bound Shoppers, Gift Exchangers Swamp Malls : Day after: Thousands inundate retail stores, jam the parking lots and jostle for marked-down items.

Successful shopping the day after Christmas takes stamina, patience and, above all, a dutiful spouse with a sure-fire parking plan, according to Newbury Park resident Nadine Cassady.

Her husband got up at 6 a.m. Saturday to park a car near the entrance to The Oaks mall, Cassady explained. Later, he simply dropped Cassady, her two daughters and her sister-in-law off at the crowded Thousand Oaks mall, where the parked car awaited their exit.

“We did this before Christmas, too,” Cassady said, arms loaded with bags of purchases. “It works really well.”

Their foresight paid off. All 4,700 parking slots at The Oaks mall were filled by noon Saturday as thousands of shoppers descended upon the center to return Christmas gifts, take advantage of sales and load up on cards and decorations for next year’s Yuletide.

Hundreds of cars prowled the parking area, inching behind shoppers with keys in their hands, ready to pounce at any newly available space.

Parking lot derbies and frenzied shopping were repeated at malls and shopping areas throughout Ventura County, leading to predictions by area merchants that an already healthy Christmas season could end on a blockbuster note.

“Today was definitely the busiest day of the season,” said Barbara Teuscher, general manager of The Oaks mall. “I saw people walking to the mall from a quarter of a mile away because they couldn’t find a parking spot. I don’t recall seeing it like this for probably a couple of years.”

She said sales were slightly ahead of last year as of Christmas Eve, and that Saturday’s turnout was a promising indicator for fourth-quarter receipts.

“If as many people were out there buying as I thought there were, I think we will come out far ahead,” Teuscher said. The center’s 150 specialty shops and five department stores pull in about $220 million a year, she said.

At Buenaventura Mall in Ventura, early birds turned out in force at the 8 a.m. opening time to beat the competition for parking spaces and sale items, said mall assistant manager Keith Langstaff.

“This morning, they were lined up at the door and took off running when we opened them,” Langstaff said.

Heather Austin, manager of the Miller’s Outpost outlet in Oxnard’s Esplanade Mall, said there were far more people buying sale items than returning gifts or making exchanges.

“I think they held off until after Christmas,” said Austin, working one of three registers for a line of patrons that snaked across the store. “People know they will find good sales today.”

Teuscher suggested that no one should underestimate the allure of a post-holiday sale, noting that some merchandise was marked down as much as 50%.

“I think everyone’s looking for bargains,” she said. “There are people who just flat-out buy all their Christmas gifts for the following year, plus cards, gift wrap and decorations. They prefer the higher-quality stuff and they want to pay a lesser price. You can’t blame them.”

Annette Collins of Ventura had already spent about $70 on cards, gift wrapping and Christmas decorations, all at half-price, by early afternoon. She started her day in Ventura at a Hallmark store, looking for bargains, and worked her way to The Oaks mall for more sales.

“I do this every year,” said Collins, 52, as she sorted through a long table laden with boxes of Christmas cards at Bullocks. “It’s more economical. And it’s a family tradition.”

Ace Saito, 48, took a break from shopping with his wife and two teen-age sons to sip a soft drink near a fast-food stand at The Oaks.

“I’m holding the fort down for everyone because they are just kind of scattered all over the place,” said Saito, sitting at a table surrounded by mounds of packages.

While some tempers flared as motorists jockeyed for limited parking spots, shoppers inside The Oaks mall seemed to take the controlled chaos in stride.

“I think you anticipate the crowds,” said Dorothy Beaubien, 60, who came to return a sweater for her husband. “It can be frustrating to a degree, but that’s part of Christmas, having all these people around.”

For Nadine Cassady and her relatives, the hassles are part of the fun. As self-described hard-core shoppers, the women had been working the sale racks for more than three hours by early afternoon. They had plans to keep going for a couple more.

“This is a family effort,” she said.

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Hardy bargain-hunters flood Southland malls. A1