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TMCNet: Bring it on! [Daily News, Los Angeles]

[November 27, 2009]

Bring it on! [Daily News, Los Angeles]

(Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 27--Anna Mejia of Arleta planned to start her Christmas shopping at 1 a.m. today, staking out her local Walmart store in order to get first dibs on discounted electronics when the doors opened four hours later.


With a holiday budget of $1,000, the store manager hopes to snap up a laptop computer and two iPod Touches, music and games.

"I have more money to spend this year than last year, because I paid off some bills," Mejia said earlier this week. "I looked at the Black Friday ads and I'll be at Walmart at 5 a.m. I can't wait." The 20-year-old is among the 128 million American shoppers expected to hit stores this weekend, searching for rock-bottom prices and doorbuster perks. But with unemployment still climbing and the recession dragging on, shoppers are expected to keep a tighter grip on their wallets.

The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales for this month and December to dip 1 percent from last year to $437.6 billion. But the winter of 2008 was especially dismal, with a 3.4 percent slide marking the first drop in holiday retail sales since tracking began in 1992, according to the Washington, D.C.-based retail trade association.

"As the global economy continues to recover from the worst economic crisis most retailers have ever seen, Americans will focus primarily on practical gifts and shop on a budget this holiday season," predicted Rosalind Wells, the federation's chief economist.

Other analysts point to the moderate increases in consumer spending in recent months -- such as a 1.4 percent increase in retail sales in October -- and are predicting a slight increase in holiday shopping this year over last.

However cautious consumers are also saving more money and paying off debt, which also plays a role in holiday spending, said Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist with the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

"We don't expect a robust season," Nickelsburg said. "But it will be better than last year." In Los Angeles, residents are expected to snap up one-third fewer presents than in 2007 and cut their budgets by nearly 25 percent, according to an annual holiday survey of retail spending and trends by Deloitte and Touche.

Southlanders will spend an average $391 at the stores and will buy 15 gifts this year. Two years ago, shoppers shelled out $515 and purchased 23 presents, according to the 24th annual survey.

Tiffany Martinez, 24, of Chatsworth, is bucking that trend, spending about the same amount -- $1,000 -- as last year. But she plans to join the throngs of Black Friday shoppers for the first time today to ensure she gets a good deal on the 20 to 30 gifts she's buying for her family.

"I want to make my money stretch," Martinez said.

Spending for the holidays is tight these days for the 12.5 percent of Californians out of work -- a historical high for the state.

David Ly, 44, of Winnetka, lost his assembly-line job six months ago, so he will be buying fewer presents this year and looking for bargains at every turn.

Still, none of the sales will have what he really wants for Christmas this year.

"My Christmas gift would be to get a job -- any job I can," Ly said.

With economy-weary consumers gripping tightly to their wallets, retailers this season need to work harder to lure shoppers inside their stores by offering more bargains and deeper sales than in the past, said Lars Perner, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California.

"In the past, you may have been able to lure people in your store with some specials, and people would buy other items at regular prices, too," Perner said.

"Now people are demanding more specials. It will be difficult to sell a lot of regularly priced merchandise this year." That makes competition fierce among retailers to get consumers inside and excited to part with their money.

Although 6 a.m. has long been the yawn-inducing hour that retailers flung open their doors for Black Friday sales, hundreds of Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic stores across the country opened for several hours on Thanksgiving.

Others got a jump-start by opening at midnight, sparking a national Black Friday trend for 2009.

Hundreds of shops, such as those inside Camarillo Premium Outlets, unlocked their doors for turkey-stuffed shoppers at midnight and plan to close at 10 p.m.

For the second year, the Disney Store opened many stores in its national chain at midnight Thursday after last year's financial results from the midnight sales left its executives grinning.

The Disney Store at Northridge Fashion Center was one of 125 that opened midnight Thursday, a 10 percent increase from last year.

For the first time, the chain advertised sales for Black Friday -- dubbed Magical Friday at Disney -- on Facebook and Twitter and upped advertising to attract customers.

Also for the first time, Disney Stores had large assortments of gifts for $5, $10 and $15 prominently displayed this season.

"I think in this economy we need to show value," said Jim Fielding, president of Disney Store Worldwide. "We want our guests to see the value easily." Other retailers, such as Kohl's and J.C. Penney planned to open at 4 a.m. today. Macy's, Target and Walmart planned their openings for an hour later.

Vince Villalobos, 34, of North Hollywood, hopes to spend less on gifts this year, but he's already started his Christmas shopping and bought some clothes for his children, Isabella, 7, and Anthony, 9.

Already enjoying the spirit of the holiday, Villalobos is unsure if he will really pull back on gift giving this year.

"I always say I'll spend less, but I don't," Villalobos said. "You always seem to figure out a way to spend your money." To see more of the Daily News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailynews.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, Daily News, Los Angeles Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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