Mall Madness Awaits 11th-Hour Shoppers

Thought the Thanksgiving weekend shopping frenzy was scary?

Just wait. The biggest buying crunch is yet to come.

Shoppers are expected in droves at Ventura County’s malls this weekend, hunting down hot-selling Poo-Chis, Razor scooters, jewelry, and those sheepskin-lined Uggs clogs and boots that in Southern California are less about warmth and more about fashion.

On post-Turkey Day trips, many shoppers are just looking, industry analysts say. But the two weeks before Christmas is when the pressure to buy kicks in. Add to that two variables this year: Hanukkah falls late--it begins at sundown Dec. 21--and Christmas Day is on a Monday. That means malls should stay packed between now and Dec. 24.

Last year, nearly 50% of holiday mall sales were made between Dec. 13 and Christmas Eve, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Area retailers say this national pattern holds true in local suburbs. This year, they expect the busiest shopping day to be Saturday, Dec. 23.

“We all put things off until the last minute--we always think we have more time than we really do,” said Alice Love, the marketing director at Pacific View Mall in Ventura. “And, believe it or not, there really are some people who love to shop with all the hustle and bustle.”

Not Michael Bobb, 30, of Ventura, or his girlfriend, Nicole Johnson, 18, of Camarillo. The two Vons employees enjoyed the relatively sparse crowd as they strolled through Pacific View early Tuesday afternoon--after the lunch rush but before the after-school crunch. They toted bags of gifts, including a Billy Bass singing fish for Bobb’s stepfather. Bobb works an early morning shift and has afternoons off; Johnson has Tuesdays off.

The couple avoid weekend shopping, mostly because of traffic jams and flaring tempers in mall parking lots. “People can get upset from the pressure of it all,” Bobb said. Weekday off-time shopping, in contrast, is “a nice, mellow time,” he said.

George and Lupe Castaneda of Santa Paula, retirees with two children and six grandchildren to shop for, say the only way to get their shopping done is when there isn’t a crowd. “We also go to the movies when nobody’s there,” George Castaneda said, as he and his wife clutched three bulging Macy’s bags Tuesday afternoon.

But many more shoppers have the herd instinct--or don’t have a choice. And, collectively, shoppers can be as predictable about what they buy as when they buy it.

At K.B. Toys in The Oaks mall, store manager Stephen Cripe said the most sought-after items mirror what’s in demand nationally: Diva Starz dolls (about $30, not yet in stock at his store), Razor scooters ($99), Celebration Barbie (sold out, with another shipment on the way, $49.99), Poo-Chi toy dogs ($30 to $50), and merchandise spun off from the “102 Dalmatians” film.

Here’s what shoppers are asking for at some other stores at The Oaks:

* Ben Bridge Jeweler has been selling, on average, two men’s Rolex watches a day this season, up 56% from last year, said store manager J.W. Kurpjuweit. The watches start at $2,500 “and go to the price of mid-size sedans” depending on the model, Kurpjuweit said. Diamond solitaire earrings and pendants, about $900 each, are popular gifts for women in Thousand Oaks, he said.

“People are rewarding themselves because they’re doing well in the stock market,” Kurpjuweit said. “When it took a dip because of this [presidential] election, that stopped. But they’re back again this week.”

* The Williams-Sonoma store has sold more than 40 Leverpull corkscrews, which can cork or recork wine bottles in one motion ($139).

* Comfort Zone expects to have sold 1,200 pairs of men’s and women’s Uggs ($44.95-$144.95) between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Shoppers don’t usually fight over Rolexes, corkscrews or footwear. They fight over children’s toys. Years when one product, like Furbies, dominate wish lists, mall crowds can get ugly. But Cripe said the delay of PlayStation 2 this year has spread the demand more evenly among a handful of items and made for friendlier crowds.

Friendly or not, crowds are still crowds. Shops have extra staff on hand, and malls have valet parking and extended hours to manage the flow. Retailers advise those who want to avoid the crush to come weekdays. Those who can only get to the mall on weekends will do best to arrive first thing in the morning, mall people say, before parking lots fill up.

Even so, Diane Brandes, marketing director for The Oaks, knows what to expect during peak shopping times over the next two weeks: “It’s going to be a zoo.”