Retail thrives this season

Published 12:28 pm Saturday, December 27, 2008

The second “Black Friday” of the 2008 Christmas shopping season was huge.

The store scene was wild with returns and exchanges, but also aggressive shopping for more bargains.

Shoppers were still looking for big deals. The mood was upbeat and positive.

Email newsletter signup

That’s how Dec. 26 will go down in Austin store records.

A survey of Christmas shopping the day after Dec. 25 revealed a cheery report card.

Four stores in Austin represented a cross section of the retail choices.

First, the Wal-Mart Supercenter’s store manager Lee Kruse talked about shopping at the 18th Avenue Northwest giant retailer.

“I am very pleased with the 2008 Christmas shopping season at the Austin Wal-Mart,” Kruse said. “The last seven days have been absolutely steady and that’s huge.”

The store opened in Austin in July with great fanfare and became a Christmas shopping favorite this season.

Wal-Mart prices and selections made it a “must see” for consumers.

“Today has been a very busy day in the store,” Kruse said Friday. “We believe our in-stock merchandise, wide choices and our customer service combined to help make it a great shopping season.”

Kruse also praised the store’s associates for their exemplary work under difficult circumstances. He plans to target their growth and development as the old year gives way to the new.

Most of all, the store manager said he was thankful.

“I think the cold winter weather helped people to stay at home and shop locally,” he said. “We appreciate their loyalty and thank the entire community for their support in our first year in Austin.”

Jeremy Weidman, Austin Target store team leader, stopped to catch his breath during a “very busy” Friday afternoon long enough to say, “It’s been a great Christmas shopping season.”

The Target store was open until 6 p.m. Wednesday, Christmas Eve.

“You wouldn’t believe the number of people we had in the store when we were about to close,” he said. “I believe a lot of people were still looking for the best bargains right up until the last minute this year.”

On Friday, the Target store opened at 7 a.m. and remained open until 11 p.m. The pace of shopping continued in a frenzy, Weidman said.

“The last two weeks of the Christmas shopping season were great. There were good deals, everyone had a good attitude despite the economy and there was steady visitor and shopper traffic right up until Christmas,” Weidman said.

The Target store’s Friday traffic was helped with “50 percent off” sales.

Among the top-selling items this season were electronic goods, television converter boxes and digital TVs — particularly flat screen and LCD models.

“Toys were huge, also,” Weidman said.

As far as 2009 projections go, Weidman said he is looking forward to the challenges.

“We’re optimistic and excited about 2009; cautiously optimistic,” he said.

Jessica Jenkins, store manager at Sterling Main Street in the Sterling Shopping Center, said the store traffic was steady Friday.

She spent part of the day spreading ice melt over sidewalks to aid shoppers.

“Overall, it’s been a successful shopping season at Sterling Main Street,” Jenkins said. “We’re very pleased with the results.”

Jenkins credited the store’s aggressive advertising campaign, which included direct mail discount coupons, with drawing customers to the store.

“Our gift department was well-shopped this year,” she said.

And the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Buy Mower, Grow Mower” campaign also motivated shoppers to use local retailers to their advantage.

That sentiment was echoed by Cindy Martin, store manager at Bonnie’s Hallmark in downtown Austin.

“Overall, it was a good shopping season for us,” she said, adding, “Not as good as last year, but still very positive.”

Gift items and the wide selection of Hallmark personalized Christmas greeting cards were popular items. So, too, were the cards, featuring musical selections or personally recorded messages and songs.

On Friday, store traffic at Bonnie’s Hallmark was steady. “They’re still looking for good deals,” Martin said.

And the store manager also praised the Austin Chamber’s Buy Mower, Grow Mower” campaign.

“I think it convinced shoppers to support their local merchants and the entire community,” she said.

According to retail experts, the Christmas shopping season typically accounts for 30 to 50 percent of a retailer’s annual total sales.

The worsening economy and its job cuts, portfolio losses and other economic woes convinced many consumers to cut back on Christmas shopping this season.

The nightly television news chronicled the gloom and doom and forecasts for year-ending retails sales were dismal.

Strong winter storms also hampered travel and may have kept some people at home to shop online.

But not in Austin, according to four sources.

Friday’s warm-up allowed freedom of movement locally — despite heavy fog — and Austin stores were waiting with more sales and more “big deals.”

Wal-Mart’s Kruse noted, “We may have created a second Black Friday this year with Christmas on a Thursday and the three-day weekend following.”