‘Tis Season to Spend, If Strong Initial Sales Hold Up : Economy: Several national chains said California sales exceeded expectations for the Friday-to-Sunday kickoff period.

Retailers found some glitter in the Golden State this past weekend as Californians shrugged off recessionary blues and spent more on post-Thanksgiving shopping than many stores had anticipated.

Several major chain retailers--including R. H. Macy, Dayton Hudson and Sears, Roebuck--said Sunday that sales at their California stores exceeded expectations for the widely watched Friday-to-Sunday kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Such a trend could signal better times ahead for the state’s economy, which has been lagging behind that of the nation.

If the trend persists, it also could mean that retailers won’t have to discount goods as heavily in the last week before Christmas, when sales usually are strongest.

Nationally, holiday shopping got off to a “promising start,” several major retailers agreed, with volumes about 5% above last year’s figures and even higher surges in other regions, such as the mid-Atlantic.

If the trend holds throughout the season, retailers could be looking at a second consecutive year of overall sales increases, following three years of grim holiday numbers.

Sears said its Southwest region--including California--was the chain’s “strongest performer” in the Friday-to-Sunday period.

R. H. Macy & Co., which operates Macy’s, Bullock’s and I. Magnin stores, said its Southern California outlets had a “very strong showing.” Dayton Hudson, parent of Mervyn’s and Target stores, said its California locations kept pace with increasing sales volumes across the country.

Other national retailers reported similar results at their West Coast stores. The upbeat signs were a contrast to last year’s holiday shopping kickoff, when the lingering California recession depressed shoppers’ moods and spending, and some California retailers eventually saw season-long sales drop 3% from the year before.

Sales for the Friday-to-Sunday period in the West, including California, rose 7.4% from the year-ago period, according to Telecheck Services Inc., a check-acceptance company. Nationally, Telecheck said, sales rose 5%. The International Council of Shopping Centers, a group for the mall industry, said sales for last Friday alone were up 7% in malls nationwide.

Retailers are expected to report actual sales figures later this week.

Most retailers had low expectations for this season, forecasting small increases based in part on surveys showing sluggish consumer confidence. Thus, they were encouraged by the early results.

“We had planned (increases) to be in the low single digits, and we exceeded that in all our divisions,” said Laura Melillo, a spokeswoman for R. H. Macy.

It appears that 1993 might be a “back-to-basics” holiday. Merchandisers nationwide reported that consumers were looking for traditional holiday gifts as well as bargains.