Last-Minute Saturday : Retailers Have Visions of Record Last-Day Sales; Shoppers Wary, Worn

With a little help from the calendar and incentives such as discount promotions and perks, the nation’s merchants are in position to parlay today’s last-minute holiday shopping into the biggest single-day sales gross of the year.

For retailers, this Christmas Eve--a work-free Saturday for most consumers--is the last opportunity to move enough merchandise to limit the kind of post-Christmas price-cutting that reduces profits.

For consumers, it’s time to confront a frenzied retail arena fraught with the perils of last-minute shopping--dangers such as the impulse buy, the panic purchase and slick merchandising, not to mention potential gridlock in the stores and parking lots.

Yes, there’ll be bonuses and bargains aplenty. Retailers are promoting price-cuts, mall entertainment and amenities such as free gift-wrapping. However, the smart consumer will have to scrutinize displays and shop with a modicum of patience to avoid the kind of budget-busting spending that can create post-Christmas headaches.

Greg Milton, a self-described procrastinator, doubts his ability to ferret out a good deal. Milton, who shopped for jewelry at various stores at the Westside Pavilion on Wednesday evening, said he would probably be among those shopping on Christmas Eve because he had not yet bought gifts for his wife and friends.

“What’s a good deal and what’s hype?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m out of my element.”

Such indecision will be the bane of many of those shoppers. The deadline urgency to complete that shopping leads to some poor purchasing choices, said Doug Hope, publisher of Display & Design Ideas, a trade publication for retailers.

“The last-minute shopper tends to be panic-prone and is less conscious of pricing because of that desperation,” Hope said. “There’ll be bargains but retailers will also prominently display more expensive items because many of these late shoppers are not smart shoppers.”

Hope said many consumers make unplanned “impulse” purchases when confronted with attractively displayed items on tables. Shoppers will notice extra display tables of the sort in many stores today, he said--tables of the type that normally contain discount items.

Music is another mood-altering resource, and holiday sounds from taped playlists provided by companies such as Muzak Corp. and AEI Music--two Seattle-based competitors--are the soundtrack for shopping in many stores. One school of thought--ascribed to at the Glendale Galleria--says that higher volume makes for higher sales.

As a result, shoppers at the Galleria this week will note that the decibels have been turned up a notch.

Approaching the finish line of the retail marathon, retailers here and elsewhere are feeling pretty good.

By the close of business today, retailers nationwide will have generated overall holiday sales increases of 5% to 6%, predicts Richard Giss, partner at the retail services group of accounting giant Deloitte & Touche. Southern California retailers will record an increase of 6% to 7% over a year ago, Giss said.

But today could provide a powerful finishing kick. And while mall managers pull out all the stops--with carolers, free-vacation contests and so forth--the biggest lure will be the season’s peak sales bargains.

Visions of discounts danced in Lydia Ramirez’s head as she shopped for clothing at the Century City Shopping Center. “I’ll be shopping early tomorrow because the best deals will go fast,” Ramirez said Friday.

Bill Prachner and his daughter, Alexandria, already had several bags of goods by 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Westside Pavilion.

“We wanted to beat the crowds and we’re just about done,” he said. “The bargains are better the last few days before Christmas.”

To accomodate the early birds, most malls will open today at 9 a.m., an hour earlier than usual. Mall managers are primed for a real rush. The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw mall expects 20% to 30% over the normal Saturday turnout. And mall managers predict increases are 30% to 40% for the Sherman Oaks Galleria--and about 50% for the Century City Shopping Center.

“We’ll have big, orderly crowds Friday,” said Cindy Chong, general manager of the Glendale Galleria. “The frenzy begins Christmas Eve.”