Robust Economy Has Shoppers Scurrying

Ruby Moore and Violet Bastian were revved up at the crack of dawn on Friday as they waded into Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s teeming apparel aisles at South Coast Plaza.

Packed parking lots, long cash register lines and a few disgruntled fellow shoppers weren’t enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the two senior citizens on what is probably the most crowded shopping day of the year. Actually buying anything is beside the point.

“It’s the high that you get from the shopping experience,” said Moore, who’s been shopping side by side with her sister for nearly 30 years. “And, remember, it’s a legal high.”

For most people, however, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season is a down and dirty, every-shopper-for-himself experience, a blend of sport and custom that is typically American. That meant a line of 400 people at Sears by the 7 a.m. opening, a pair of women at Macy’s who had completed their shopping by 8 a.m., and a mother who sang her traditional “shopping song” to wake her daughters at 5:30 a.m.

“It’s a combination of people being bored and having this kind of available time on this weekend,” said Robert Blattberg, the director of the Center for Retail Management at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

And there are promotions galore to lure shoppers to malls at early hours unthinkable on what is, for many, a holiday weekend. This weekend after Thanksgiving brings added pressure: The traditional start of the holiday shopping season heralds the end to a stellar retail year, one that industry analysts expect to end as strongly as it began.

“It is unique to Americans,” said Stephanie Shern, of Ernst & Young. “I’ve often wondered how Europe, since they don’t have Thanksgiving, hypes the season.”

South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, with 271 stores, houses the type of upscale shops found on Rodeo Drive as well as such middle-market bastions as Sears, making it a microcosm of the shopping scene throughout Southern California.

And on Friday, old-fashioned window shoppers, gift-list makers and price comparers crammed South Coast, the region’s biggest mall, as they did malls throughout the rest of the country.

South Coast officials at midday estimated that the number of shoppers was up 15% from last year’s 185,000 on “Green Friday,” as the day is called. Before noon, most of the mall’s 12,500 parking spaces were filled.

For Joy Mitchell, 52, outfitted in her red and green vest with a rhinestone reindeer pin, it was a day of shopping, lunch and bonding with daughter Kim, 25.

“It’s a time when we get to really feel like we’re getting in the Christmas spirit,” said Joy Mitchell. “No husband, no friends, just us.”

Items in short supply brought some shoppers in early.

Corona del Mar resident Richard Miller was unshaven but unbowed when he arrived at the Disney Store at South Coast Plaza at 5:45 a.m. The early morning maneuvering guaranteed Miller and his young daughter, Ashley, claim tickets for two of the store’s allotment of 132 Winnie the Pooh plush collectibles.

Sears’ early bird special drew Eleodoro and Teresa Sanchez, who had just an hour to shop at Sears before heading off to work, he at a Pep Boys store, she behind a Burger King counter. The Santa Ana couple were in search of clothing and tools--as well as savings.

By 10 a.m., the store easily was on track to better last year’s register take. “In three hours, we did 50% of what we expected to do during our full, 14-hour day,” Mark A. Adamson said. “If this keeps up, we’ll clearly set a record. I’m kind of in awe myself about the demand we’re seeing here.”

The Friday after Thanksgiving is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year; a procrastinating American public has given the Saturday just before Christmas that distinction. Retailers say the day’s importance lies in setting the tone for the holidays.

“It’s enormously important, this weekend,” said Michael Steinberg, chairman and chief executive of Macy’s West. “It’s the start of the holidays--the bell rings, the mood changes, Thanksgiving is behind people. Probably, it ranks for us between the No. 2 and No. 3 weekend in terms of sales.”

Thanks in no small part to such shoppers as Jennifer Barcellos, 31, and her mother, Barbara Murphy, 56, of Orange, who by 7:50 a.m. were almost finished with their shopping day. Each weighed down by several Macy’s shopping bags, the pair was lighter in the wallet: They estimated they would be down about $1,500.

But that’s $150 to $225 less than they would have spent if not for holiday discounts, they said.

The inclination to shop on the day after Thanksgiving seems to have extended to the virtual shopping world as well.

“Today was a very busy day for us,” said Santa Monica-based EToys spokesman Jonathan Cutler, who said he could not give more specific numbers.

“This is our Super Bowl and we’ve been preparing for it for the past 12 months.”

The frenzy repeated itself throughout the region. Parking was scarce at the Desert Hills Outlet Mall in Cabazon and long lines greeted shoppers queued up to enter popular stores only to endure lines often more than 30 people long at the cash register.

“I’m starting to think this isn’t worth it,” said Walnut Creek resident Brad Revis, as he stood in line with his 19-year-old daughter, Cynthia, outside Tommy Hilfiger--his daughter’s favorite store.

At the Wal-Mart in Panorama City, hand-held video games cluttered the toy department floor where Mary Garcia, 37, chose three bicycles for her children. She arrived at the store 40 minutes before its 6 a.m. opening, and once inside, waited three hours to buy the bikes.

In some cases, a record-tight labor market and competitive retail pricing environment translated into some bad experiences on Friday.

Isaac Alvarado was ready to head home even before parking his car at South Coast. “Some crazy lady was standing in the parking spot screaming at me,” said Alvarado, who was shopping for a dishwasher. “She didn’t have a car, but she wouldn’t get out of the way. When she started threatening to get her husband after me, I figured it was time to leave.”

At Ann Taylor, clerks tried to force buyers into a single checkout line. Even when confused newcomers simply showed up at a third register, across the store from the other two, they were hustled across the way, fuming, back into the single line.

Some analysts have warned that the beginning of the year’s startlingly strong pace has softened a bit, with earnings and job growth both slowing their rapid growth.

At the same time, said Michael Niemira, an analyst with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in New York, consumer debt is at its highest since 1987 and spending has begun to taper off.

American Express nonetheless found that the average American family is planning to spend 16% more than they did last year, for a total of $1,558 on gifts, entertaining, travel and decorations.

And up or down, there are always the shop-till-they-drop mainstays.

Barbie Love woke her daughters at 5:50 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving with “the shopping song,” which she demonstrated as they stood outside Beach Access on Friday morning.

The Costa Mesa resident and her daughters Denise, 19, and Heather, 14, were clearly ready to spend, but they were also intending to have plenty of fun.

“Shopping is a tradition,” said Bastian, one half of the veteran pair of sister shoppers, who was decked out in a shirt and vest decorated with Christmas symbols. “It’s part of what makes the holiday season.”

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Times staff writers Leslie Earnest, Jonathan Gaw and Roberto J. Manzano and correspondent Stephen Gregory also contributed to this story.