Stores Set for Shopper Surge On Last Day Before Christmas

James Switzer, a fire chief in Vanceburg, Ky., helps Willie Franco, 4, put a toy in his cart yesterday during a holiday shopping program. (By Brian Hitch -- Associated Press)

The countdown to Christmas is officially on as retailers slash prices and extend their hours today in a final push for last-minute sales.

Because the holiday falls on a Sunday this year, industry experts predicted that stores would be especially mobbed today. Many people also took off work yesterday or left early to go shopping, which may end up making Friday the busiest day of the year for retailers.

"We're calling it 'son of Black Friday,' " said Ernie Speranza, chief marketing officer of KB Toys, referring to the industry nickname for the day after Thanksgiving, when hefty sales volume helps push retailers into the black, or profitability.

Meanwhile, traffic at online retailers has dropped off after record highs last week. That's partly because guaranteed delivery on the free shipping offers that many used as incentives has ended, said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks, which tracks Internet shopping.

The busiest days for online retailers were Dec. 12 and 13, each generating about $560 million in sales, he said. This week, spending has dropped as much as 30 percent.

Still, total online retail sales from Nov. 1 through Wednesday, the last day for which data were available, were about $17.48 billion, a 24 percent increase over last year. Fulgoni said he anticipated that sales will hit almost $20 billion by Christmas.

"It's a year when Internet buying has kind of become mainstream," he said. "If one tries to gauge the health of consumers by looking at [traditional] retail sales, you could really be misled."

Bricks-and-mortar retailers, especially Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., have offered some of the most aggressive online promotions this year, he said. But other industry experts noted that traditional retailers seemed to scale back discounts after Black Friday.

"I do think retailers have missed the consumers' promotional mindset," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group Ltd., a consumer behavior research firm. "The demand level for discounts has risen dramatically."

That began to change this week, however, as many retailers began offering blockbuster promotions once more.

"2 More Days to Shop!" announced a J. C. Penney advertisement tucked inside newspapers across the Washington area yesterday featuring 50 percent off blankets, men's pajamas and robes.

Local J.C. Penney Co. stores were slated to open at 7 a.m. today and offered a coupon for $10 off purchases of $50 or more. CompUSA Inc. launched a six-hour "midnight madness sale" yesterday on top of its three-day "last-minute gift sale." Specials included a Compaq laptop for $474.99 after rebates, and a free photo printer with many digital cameras. Local Best Buy Co. stores, meanwhile, are scheduled to open today an hour early at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Kathy Hannon, senior property manager for Macerich Co., which runs Tysons Corner Center, said traffic yesterday was "extremely busy." She spent part of the afternoon standing next to a mall directory pointing customers to where they needed to go. The Apple store, Brookstone and Barnes & Noble were among the most popular, she said.

Hannon predicted that today the mall would be busiest in the morning, with the crowds thinning out by about 4 p.m. Tysons, along with most of the malls in the area, will close today at 6 p.m.

Several industry groups reported early this week that the majority of shoppers had yet to cross off all the items on their lists. According to market research firm ShopperTrak, retail sales jumped nearly 17 percent last week over the previous week. That trend should continue through today, the group said.

According to VisaUSA, which tracks credit card purchases, the biggest shopping day so far was Dec. 16, when consumers rang up $5.2 billion in sales. But the company predicted that the past few days will result in even bigger figures.

"The surprise has been that it's been a little stronger than we had originally thought," spokesman Kenny Thomas said. "And there's still more to come."