Sunrise Shoppers
In the early morning, when the rest of the world was sleeping, Michele Gutierrez and Priscilla Orduno were busy planning their stealth mission.
This, after all, was serious stuff.
First, the Thousand Oaks Toys R Us, for a 5 a.m. Pokemon stakeout. Next, a blitz across the parking lot to Mervyn’s. Then, an assault on JCPenney to pick up the free gifts before the arrival of the late-rising shopping hordes.
And then, after 8 a.m.?
Well, heck, the morning was still young. There was a whole day ahead.
In what has become the busiest shopping day of the year, the Fillmore sisters were just two of the many early-morning shoppers Friday who hauled their Thanksgiving-sated bodies out of bed and charged out to the shopping malls. Merchants reported strong sales at the beginning of a holiday season that could be on the fast track to becoming the busiest in years, local economic analysts said.
Consumer confidence is high. Unemployment is low. And--Look!--women’s dresses and sweaters are 50% off.
The shoppers on Friday came for the free Beanie Babies and Pokemon paraphernalia. They came for the sales. They came because they were planning big holiday seasons this year. And they came early.
Suzi Pisciotta of Newbury Park and Sharon Fleagane of Moorpark relaxed outside The Oaks mall’s Disney store--or relaxed as much as it’s possible at a 6 a.m in-door camp-out. They played cards. They sipped from cupfuls of iced tea. They kept up their strength with visions of the limited-edition toys they would buy when the Disney Store opened at 9 a.m.
At the Pacific View Mall, where many shoppers got their first looks at the renovated facility, the floors were more congested than they have been in years.
Marilyn Kelly of Santa Paula was already napping by 10 a.m., tucked into an overstuffed chair and desperately needing a recharge after a morning of competitive shopping.
“I’ve been here since 7 a.m. I’ve gone to my car three times” to drop off bags, she said. “I’m on a mission.”
Many local stores ran their biggest sales, and gave away their limited supplies of free gifts, during the morning hours--a tactic that no doubt coaxed the consumer faithful from their beds and fueled their sense of shopping urgency.
At the Toys R Us in Ventura, where customers with carts piled high with Barbie Dream Houses and toy lawn mowers had trouble getting through the exit doors, the line showed no sign of abating until about 11 a.m.
“I definitely know there are a lot more people this year than last year,” said Ricardo Luna, the sales floor manager at the warehouse-size store, a circus of heaped-high carts and kiddie cries. “We didn’t have this line at this point last year.”
And though no one expected the Furby-mania of last year, security was on hand at the Toys R Us stores in Ventura and Thousand Oaks, just in case shopping enthusiasm turned into all-out frenzy.
The intense waiting got under the skin of some of the uninitiated.
Cari Johnston and Shae Calvillo stood outside Best Buy in Thousand Oaks in an early-morning line that snaked around the corner of the store.
“We went to the Oxnard store, and it was so crowded we came [here] because we knew it would be calmer,” Calvillo said.
“Never again. Never again,” Johnston professed in dismay at the size of the line. “This won’t happen again. It’s just not worth it.”
Kiersten Brooks-Lanahan, who was visiting family in Oxnard, brought her husband along to Macy’s women’s section at the Pacific View Mall. She had paid her dues with a trip through tools. Now it was time for him to return the favor.
Husband Dan sifted through blouses for just the right one--though he admitted he wasn’t there by choice. “I’m willing to help to get out of here faster,” he said. “When we spend all our money, we get to go home.”
