Gilroy
– On the busiest shopping day of the year, most people headed to
the malls to get started on their holiday lists, leaving local
merchants in other parts of Gilroy tapping their fingers.
Near highways 152 and 101 in Gilroy, where an abundance of new
retail has popped up over the past year, cash registers stayed
busy.
Gilroy – On the busiest shopping day of the year, most people headed to the malls to get started on their holiday lists, leaving local merchants in other parts of Gilroy tapping their fingers.
Near highways 152 and 101 in Gilroy, where an abundance of new retail has popped up over the past year, cash registers stayed busy. Shoppers and store employees alike were up before dawn to take advantage of the early sales, and business kept bustling nearly all day.
“I’m amazed at how much we’ve sold already this morning,” said Sandy Tompkins, a manager at Kohl’s that opened in October in Gilroy Crossing, about three hours after the store opened at 5:30am. “We’re doing really, really well.”
Tompkins said she was “very pleasantly surprised” to arrive at work at 4:40am and see a line of more than 50 people outside the store, some comfortably lounging in canvas fold-out chairs.
Although some might call those people crazy, Tompkins said they’re savvy.
“Some people come at 8 and think that’s early, but they miss out on a lot of the early bird specials,” Tompkins said, adding that many early bird items such as DVD players were sold out 45 minutes after the doors opened.
But for a handful of merchants in other parts of Gilroy, the day after Thanksgiving was one of their slowest, with many shoppers heading to malls, shopping complexes and San Jose to buy their holiday gifts. Some stores, such as the scrapbook shop Got Memories in downtown Gilroy, remained closed the day after Thanksgiving.
Charlie Clark of Leedo Gallery and Frame on First Street said over the past 10 years he’s been with the store, he’s come to accept that Black Friday is the day most people head elsewhere to shop.
“It’s a mall day,” he said. “People just aren’t shopping locally on this day. That’s the way it goes.”
Clark said December is usually when business picks up for his store, as customers are searching for frames for photographs or pieces of art to give as gifts. January also sees more business, Clark said, because of people who received unframed art or monetary gifts for the holidays.
Simply Romance, a lingerie and intimate gift store on First Street near Santa Teresa Boulevard, also had a fairly slow day yesterday. Owner Jackie Provost said the parking lot of the shopping plaza where the store is located had been emptier than usual all day.
The store’s biggest shopping day generally is Christmas Eve, Provost said.
“All the last-minute men come out to buy their wives gifts,” she said.
Linda Graham, owner of downtown Gilroy antique store Collective Past, opened her shop yesterday at the usual time of 10am without giving more than a thought to opening early. Like Leedo Gallery, Graham said, the antique store usually sees more business in January when shoppers have gift money to spend.
Graham said she has seen shoppers over the past few weeks come in to at least look for gifts.
“A lot of times, they browse and then come back later to buy,” she said.
But for shoppers aiming to get the job done yesterday, Gilroy’s newer stores near the highways were hot spots.
Susan Ying and her sister began their day at Starbucks near Gilroy Crossing, grabbing one of the only unoccupied tables and getting down to business. Together they systematically filled blank pages of a small notebook with names of family members on the left side of the page, and what they want for the holidays on the right.
“We do it like this every year,” Ying said. “It’s much easier than just wondering around aimlessly at the mall. By noon, you’re so foggy minded anyway, and that’s when you forget stuff and end up doing last-minute shopping.”
The sisters said they each will spend $400 to $500 this year on holiday gifts, a bit lower than the roughly $700 the average American plans on spending this year, according the National Retail Federation. That’s up about $30 from last year.
Ying said she tried her best to get her shopping done early – she even bought wrapping paper in January on sale from last year’s holiday season – but the momentum dwindled as the year progressed.
“And here I am now, still trying to figure out what to get people,” she said. “But my goal is to not be shopping on Christmas Eve. I hate it when that happens.”
But for shoppers like Gilroy resident Jack Caratti, last-minute shopping won’t be a problem. Caratti, 63, said he’ll buy almost all of his holiday gifts online. He said he’d rather spend the day after Thanksgiving relaxing than “running around like a frantic shopper with my head cut off and my credit cards maxed out.”
Flipping through bundles of slick holiday newspaper ads and sipping an eggnog latte, Caratti said the luxury of shopping online in his pajamas is invaluable.
“Convenience. It’s all about convenience,” he said. “I don’t want to hassle with those crowds. The stores are a mess with stuff everywhere, and even if you find the shelf you’re looking for, the merchandise is already sold out. And everyone’s cranky. No thanks.”
Caratti is not alone, as an estimated 84 percent of Americans will purchase at least one holiday gift online this year, up by almost 10 percent from last year’s holiday season, according to AC Nielsen.
For others, though, shop-til-you-drop is an enjoyable Thanksgiving tradition.
Laureen Curiel and Juanita Zendejaz, both from Hollister, arrived at Wal-Mart in Gilroy about 5:45am, 15 minutes before the store opened. The two friends said they almost always shop the day after Thanksgiving. Their strategy? Browse through store ads beforehand, then make a list of everything they’re after.
On a dogged search for early bird specials, the two said they had fared pretty well by the time they had arrived at Target around 8:30am, despite the sometimes ungracious behavior of other holiday shoppers.
“Some customers over at Wal-Mart were a bit rude. There was some pushing and shoving,” Curiel said. “So I put on a happy face and told everyone, ‘Happy holidays!'”
Amy Frugoli, a manager at Target, said about 100 people were lined up outside the store before it opened at 6am. About two hours later, Frugoli said sales were even better than she expected.
“Everything that was featured in our two-day ads we’re blowing out of pretty quickly,” she said.
Especially popular items this year include electronic toys such as PlayStation 2 and accompanying games, Frugoli said.
Amidst the activity at Kohl’s, the store didn’t experience any major catastrophes or mishaps during its first few hours of business, Tompkins said. For the most part, customers were patient and polite.
“Most customers have been very cordial. They realize this is a day they’re going to have to wait in line, and most of them take it in stride,” she said. “We’re trying to keep lines moving as fast as we possibly can.”
To make waiting in line a little more tolerable, store associates at Kohl’s entertained customers with games and jokes. Whoever could produce an out-of-state license the fastest won a $10 Kohl’s coupon, for example.
Beverly Melles said she didn’t mind the long lines as much as she did the scramble to find a decent parking spot. Melles walked out of Kohl’s proud of her purchases, which included a poker table top she bought for $25, on sale from $70.
“For my son,” she said. “He’s a poker nut.”
Target and Kohl’s weren’t the only retailers that did well yesterday. Matt Ayon, co-manager of SportMart that opened in June, said about 35 or 40 customers were in line before the store opened at 5:30am. Hot items from that store this year include electric scooters and Schwinn Sting-Ray bikes, Ayon said.
“There’s been a lot of interest in those bikes,” he said. “We’ve had quite a few people asking about them.”
Meanwhile, It’s A Grind coffee shop in Pacheco Pass Shopping Center opened at 3am to accommodate the rush of caffeine-needy holiday shoppers at surrounding stores such as Best Buy and Linens ‘n Things.
Coffee shop employee Ana Lopez, 18, said her boss called her in an hour early at 8am to help with the surge of business. That was fine with Lopez, who said she was just thankful she didn’t have to come in at when then shop opened.
“Too early for me,” she said.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Grieger, another It’s A Grind employee, said business at the shop’s drive-thru started as early as 4am and remained constant throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Some people mistakenly thought they’d walk into It’s A Grind and leave with only a cup of coffee or a pastry. But the holiday gift packages, mugs and small knick-knacks the store also carries proved to be too tempting for some shoppers on a mission.
“These are perfect for stocking stuffers. Look at these,” said 53-year-old Mary Gallegos, holding up a pink flower-shaped ornament sold at the store’s front counter. “I bought a few of these for my grandchildren. They’ll love ’em.”
