Shoppers back at mall after holiday

FOR THE RECORD

A caption for a photo with Wednesday’s “Shoppers back at mall after holiday” should have said that the shoppers pictured were at Nordstrom in South Coast Plaza.

SOUTH COAST PLAZA — Parking lots were jammed here on Tuesday. Shoppers spilled out of the Apple Store, and a line of about 50 hungry people stretched from the Vie De France cafe at about 11 a.m. It appeared that despite the hassles of racing for deals, shoppers showed up once more for what is traditionally one of the nation’s biggest shopping days each year.

Santa Ana resident Daisy Minter, carrying shopping bags from Macy’s and Nordstrom across a bridge to the central section of the mall, said that rather than a chore, she treated it like a holiday.

“I try not to buy anything for myself this season, and I ask my husband to only give me gift cards so I can use them today,” she said. “That way I can go nuts.”

Just how nuts? Minter said she was making a day of it, from start to finish.

“I took a vacation day from work so I could be here,” she said. “I love it; I got here at 7:30, and I went to Saks as soon as it opened.”

The day is always a major shopping event, though it’s not the absolute busiest of the season. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers website, in 2005 it was the fourth-heaviest day in sales, in 2004 it didn’t even crack the top 10 and in 2003 it was in third place.

Debra Gunn Downing, the mall’s executive director of marketing, said that post-Christmas shoppers were comfortably exceeding expectations.

“We’re having a very good day,” she said. “Traffic is very strong.”

Erica Lopez of Fountain Valley said she was also having a good day. Carrying a bag full of wrapping paper and ribbons from Crate and Barrel, she said she had found some bargains.

“This stuff’s really cheap right after Christmas,” she said.

Downing attributed the high traffic on Dec. 26 to a combination of factors: Some retailers are only now putting their fall collections on sale, and consumers are getting more gift cards than ever and want to redeem them.

Another draw was a traditional side-effect of the holidays: returns.

Several shoppers interviewed admitted they were exchanging gifts they didn’t want, but none were willing to be quoted for fear of offending friends or relatives.