GILROY
– As local stores forecast a merrier sales outlook compared with
last year, last-minute holiday shoppers last weekend brought
retailers the welcome sound of ringing cash registers.
GILROY – As local stores forecast a merrier sales outlook compared with last year, last-minute holiday shoppers last weekend brought retailers the welcome sound of ringing cash registers.
The Saturday before Christmas is typically the busiest shopping day of the year, and this weekend proved active indeed. Long lines of traffic headed to Gilroy stores and along the Highway 101 shopping corridor.
Nationally, holiday retail sales are forecast to reach $217.4 billion, according to the National Retail Foundation. This is a projected growth from 4 percent to 5 percent compared with last year’s holiday season.
Local retailers should also see similar sales growth, said Susan Valenta, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.
“I think there’s some areas that are probably down,” she said. “The downtown stores will probably have some problems. But overall the sales seem to be pretty aggressive with the new stores we have.”
The Gilroy Premium Outlets off Leavesley Road looked really busy this weekend, and new stores such as Best Buy, Costco and Target are also bringing regional shoppers to Gilroy, she said.
“People are still confident with the economy,” Valenta said, and that faith helped to boost sales this season.
Many stores at the Gilroy Premium Outlets saw late shoppers come hunting for merchandise. Sue Phurman, owner of the Country Clutter gift shop said, “Our weekends were plenty busy…. It’s been much better this year to see more of our customers coming in.”
Stocking-stuffer items such as Italian charms, candles, bears and angel decorations have been selling well, she said. The Garlic Shoppe, another Outlet gift store, saw strong sales this weekend especially with gift basket orders, said owner Joyce, who asked her last name remain unpublished.
One damper on Saturday was when barricades placed at the entrance section of the shopping center kept potential shoppers from coming to her store and other businesses near it, Joyce said. Saturday’s sales were down by about 50 percent compared with Sunday’s when the barricades were removed, she said. The barricades were placed for the safety of increased shoppers, said Jane Nuñez, general manager at Gilroy Premium Outlets.
“We carefully evaluate the traffic flow especially at busy holidays times and our constant goal is to make it convenient for shoppers to reach our stores,” she said. “The erection of these barricades has also been endorsed by the Gilroy Police Department to facilitate traffic flow and help prevent traffic from backing up on city streets.”
While the big chain shopping magnets along Highway 101 saw a high turnout of shoppers, local downtown Gilroy shops also did their best to lure the weekend customers.
“We had a pretty busy weekend. This is our first weekend before the holidays,” said Kim Dyer, co-owner with Kim Burgess, of Kimz Avalon on Fifth Street. “People are very conditioned to go to the bigger shops.”
The boutique shop specializes in local products such as herbs, teas, lotions and bath products. It opened in September in downtown Gilroy. Sales have gone up during the holiday season compared with their first three months but not dramatically, Dyer said.
“We don’t depend on people walking in. We do a lot of our own marketing,” she said. Baskets by Design, another Gilroy gift business saw an almost 100 percent growth of its holiday sales compared with 2002.
“This year is way up from last year,” said Sherry Allen, owner of the speciality gift basket business. “We beat last year’s by quite a bit. Not quite double. People are definitely feeling a lot more confident in the economy. We spent many, many nights filling orders.”
Most of its business during the holidays is from corporations and businesses such as car dealerships, real estate companies, and software firms, she said. A small percentage however comes from walk-in customers looking for last-minute gifts.
“This weekend was a little bit quieter,” Allen said. “Everyone had time to go to the malls. Saturday was quiet. Last week and today (Monday) already were crazy with last minute shoppers.”
