GILROY
– Educated, disciplined and efficient are three traits more
likely associated with Marines than holiday shoppers.
GILROY – Educated, disciplined and efficient are three traits more likely associated with Marines than holiday shoppers. But with money tight and the economy sputtering, many local consumers have adopted soldier-like traits to overcome financial obstacles.
“This has become the year of the serious shopper,” said Mora Eggan, the marketing manager for the Gilroy Premium Outlets. “We are seeing people who come into the store knowing what they want and getting out. They have done their research, and they stick to a plan.”
These educated shoppers have helped some local stores rise above grim seasonal sales predictions since the 2002 holiday shopping season officially began the day after Thanksgiving, Eggan said.
At the Outlets this season, accessory items such as scarves and hats have been the biggest sellers so far, while jewelry, electronics and anything leather have also sold well, Eggan said.
Flumencio Urenda, a manager of the California Music Company, 7565 Monterey St., agreed with Eggan’s description of holiday spenders. The shoppers who’ve come to his store this holiday season have spent more money than in 2001 but less time in the store, he said.
The California Music Company does not rely as heavily on winter holiday season business as other stores – some of which record 25 percent of their yearly sales within the month of December – but Urenda reports a 30 percent increase in business through the 2002 holiday season compared to this time last year.
“Even without the recession I would say business is good,” Urenda said.”People have done their research online or in ads in newspapers, and they know all about the products. So when they come in, their mind is made up. Last year after Sept. 11, I think people didn’t have a plan, so they just didn’t buy.”
But not all area shoppers are subscribing to shopping efficiency and discipline.
On Wednesday afternoon, Morgan Hill school teacher Donna Walton strolled through downtown Gilroy’s antique and craft stores hoping to stumble upon the perfect gifts for her family.
Walton said she understands why people are changing the way they shop, but to her going from store to store trying to find hidden gems is what bargain shopping is all about.
“I like to look at everything,” she said. “I’m a teacher, so I don’t get a lot of time to shop, and I use a lot of catalogs. But whenever I get the chance to go to the stores, I enjoy taking my time and finding the right gift or a really good bargain.”
Walton is not alone in searching for that holiday bargain in turbulent economic times, although instead of eying hidden corners of antique stores for their deals, many shoppers are sifting through advertisements, according to several local merchants.
Due in large part to an aggressive advertising campaign, Wal-Mart stores across the country reported a record high $1.43 billion in sales the day after Thanksgiving, compared with $1.25 billion the year before, a company spokesman said .
And when the mega discounter’s most recent sales report was released Monday for Dec. 2 through Dec. 13, it boasted a 4-percent increase in sales per store between that two weeks this year and the same dates in 2001.
Sales figures for individual Wal-Mart stores are not available to the public.
“I think our sales really helped because people are looking for whatever deal they can get,” said Tom Williams, Wal-Mart spokesman. “We expect that to increase during the next few weeks too, because in tough economic conditions people tend to shop close to the (holiday).”
Domestic Internet shopping sales the day after Thanksgiving compared to 2001 were also up dramatically, showing a 61 percent increase, according to BizRate.com, a research company.
Bill Ganson, the owner of Hampton Court Antiques, 7542 Monterey St., said he has heard from other downtown merchants that their holiday season sales have been slow since Thanksgiving, but have been picking up in the last few days.
Ganson said he is not concerned with any shopping trends.
“I have no complaints right now,” he said. “We’re doing very well this year and January is always our best month anyway, although we’ve never been able to figure out why.”
Like Ganson, many stores at the Outlet’s will also be banking on a strong post-Christmas showing, Eggan said.
“With the type of response we have had from advertisements so far, I can imagine that our post-Christmas sales will be very popular,” she said. “The thing to remember is that people do not have a lot of money to spend, and they are looking for bargains. The job of the retailer is to provide those deals, and as we are seeing so far this season, the consumers are responding.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
