A day at the races

Let the stocking stuffing begin.

The Friday after Thanksgiving typically is the biggest shopping day of the year, and experts from the International Council of Shopping Centers predicted a 4 percent increase in sales this year.

Mike Robbins, general manager of the Triangle Town Center in Raleigh, said sales have been increasing steadily as the holiday shopping season approaches.

"Leading into the season, our center is averaging about a 20 percent increase in traffic over the past six months," Robbins said.

And experts think shopping centers nationwide could benefit from increased traffic.

Malachy Kavanagh, ICSC spokesman, said sales for this year could eclipse last year's totals.

"Last year, perhaps, we were still in a recession. This year we are seemingly out of it," he said.

The nation's economic recovery was seemingly evident Friday morning at Sears in Crabtree Valley Mall. General Manager Mark Micol said the store handed out $10 gift cards to the first 200 people through the doors.

"We gave out the gift cards in the first 20 minutes," he said, adding that 400 to 500 people lined up before the store opened at 6 a.m.

Kavanagh said the holiday shopping season is an essential time for shopping centers nationwide. "A tremendous amount of money just flows through the economy during November and December."

In anticipation of the holiday money flow, Triangle area malls began preparations for the busy shopping season.

Jeff Johnson, marketing manager of The Streets At Southpoint, said the season requires that store managers beef up their staff.

"Some stores do up to 60 percent to 70 percent of their sales for the year," he said. "Everything is staffed up more."

Johnson said security and sales staff members are added, as well as spotters on the roof who help direct shoppers to open spaces in busy parking lots.

The ambience of malls also is stepped up to appeal to shoppers and their families.

Johnson said The Streets At Southpoint hired street performers who juggle and blow up balloons while dressed in holiday costumes.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus also will sit in the middle of the mall throughout the season, taking pictures and hearing the wishes of children.

The holiday shopping season is not just big for malls. Stores such as Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us rely on it as well.

Eric Shih, professor of marketing at Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management, said the toy giant is facing stiff competition from the retail giant.

"Toys 'R' Us are actually in quite a position right now because they are competing with Wal-Mart," he said. "Wal-Mart is the No. 1 leader for toy sales right now."

And Wal-Mart's sales typically aren't too shabby on Black Friday.

The store had sales of $1.52 billion nationwide on the day after Thanksgiving last year, though Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said the day's impact is overrated.

"We kind of think people put too much emphasis on that one day," she said.

She might be right - Kavanagh said a boost in sales on the Friday after Thanksgiving might give way to stagnation before increasing again closer to Christmas Day.

"You'll get a big jump in the beginning, but it will die down," he said.

"You know we are a nation of procrastinators."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.