Consumers nationwide were expected to spend on average about $650, an increase of 4 percent over 2001 spending, according to a survey released Nov. 19 by the National Retail Federation.
Eleven percent of shoppers reported plans to increase their spending, 56 percent expected to spend the same as last year, and 33 percent expressed an intent to spend less. But some said the estimates do not reflect accurately the shopping reality of the weekend after Thanksgiving.
"We did pretty good Friday, but Saturday was bad -- it did not meet expectations," said Alex Messellemi, manager of Godiva Chocolatier at The Streets at SouthPoint in Durham.
More salesmen soon might be echoing Messellemi's complaint.
According to the N.C. Retail Merchants Association, some are thrifty because of fears about the economy.
The throngs of shoppers who filled SouthPoint's corridors Friday died down by weekend's end, said UNC junior Anna George, a saleswoman at Bath & Body Works.
She said that Saturday, when the mall opened at 7 a.m., shoppers did not begin to arrive until almost 9 a.m. George said the situation Sunday was similar. "It's not very crowded today," George said. "The mall's been kind of slow."
But some argue that the lag might not be indicative of the way the rest of December will play out. "This Christmas is going to be huge," said Kim Biese, sales manager at the American Greetings gift shop in SouthPoint.
She added that she does not expect outside factors to hurt this year's sales. Holiday sales make up between 25 percent and 50 percent of annual sales for the store, Biese said.
Businesses likely do not need to worry, said Mark Vitner, vice president and senior economist for Wachovia Corporation. "Every year there are predictions that it's going to be a tough season, but every year (sales have) gone up."
Holiday sales went up 4.1 percent in 2001 even with the economic ramifications of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This year sales are predicted to rise 4.3 percent, but Vitner emphasized that predictions always are on the conservative side.
Even with the shortened period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Vitner said, he expects spending to remain steady. "There are six fewer shopping days, but consumers started earlier."
Some business owners said they stepped up their pre-Thanksgiving advertising because of the shortened season, while others put items on sale before the traditional Thanksgiving Day start.
Durham resident Stephanie Jenkins, who was shopping in KB Toys, said that she was out of town Friday but that she likely would not have ventured to the mall because of crowds. She added that she expects to spend less money this holiday season to reduce the impact on her family. "We may be doing less, trying to save money like most of the country."
But despite concerns, Vitner expressed confidence that both stores and consumers will enter the new year no worse off than before. "People's perception of the economy is a lot worse than it actually is."
Assistant State & National Editor Jennifer Samuels contributed to this article.
The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
