Local retailers saw the same steady stream of shoppers seen across the country over the weekend and say it bodes well for the rest of the holiday shopping season.
The high volume of traffic challenges many analysts’ doom-and-gloom predictions in the days leading up to Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.
“We are off to a great start and we hope the momentum carries through,” said Nick LeMasters, general manager of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. “All of the reporting has been just the opposite of what the prognostications were.”
Consumers were high on electronics, apparel and home furnishings, he said.
Cherry Creek does not have traffic counters inside the mall, but the parking lot was 90 percent full on Friday, 85 percent full on Saturday and 75 percent on Sunday, LeMasters said.
“Sunday I think the Broncos won the battle,” he joked.
The National Retail Federation reported that more than 147 million shoppers were out over the weekend based on its Black Friday Weekend Survey. The survey, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, tracked consumers spending an average of $347.44, a 3.5 percent decrease from last year.
But the downward trend was balanced by a 4.8 percent increase in the number of shoppers. The federation said total spending was similar to last year but did not release specific figures.
Meanwhile, retailers may see record holiday Internet purchases. Promotions by and Circuit City may have pushed online spending above a single-day best $700 million Monday, ComScore Inc. estimated.
At Park Meadows, mall officials reported more than 200,000 visitors last week. On Friday the number of shoppers was up 12 percent from last year, and on Saturday that number jumped to 22 percent more than last year, said Pam Schenck, general manager.
“It is an indication that the retailers are carrying products consumers want at the prices consumers want,” Schenck said.
Independent store owners also saw more shoppers over the weekend. At Decades, a vintage and modern accessories boutique on South Broadway, sales were up 25 percent from last year on Friday and 10 percent over the weekend, said owner Kris Tait.
“It was really good traffic considering Friday was really cold, and we are not in a mall,” Tait said.
While brick-and-mortar retailers are several days into the shopping season, online retailers kicked into high gear Monday, which has come to be known as Cyber Monday for the crush of online shopping that occurs.
Greenwood Village-based tallied a 50 percent increase in Web purchases Monday compared with last year. It reported more than 100,000 visitors to the site.
“It’s just going to continue increasing,” said Peter Cobb, co-founder and senior vice president.
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
