CALL OF THE MALL WEEKEND HOLIDAY TRAFFIC STRONG.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

Bargain-happy shoppers swarmed malls last weekend as merchants reported surprisingly strong traffic.

Many experts predicted this would be an abysmal holiday season for retailers as nervous consumers cut down on spending, but local malls have consistently reported heavy interest from buyers.

At the Glendale Galleria, traditionally a strong mall even in bad economic times, traffic jumped 16 percent over the same period in 2000.

``Trafficwise, we had a tremendous week,'' said senior marketing director Annette Bethers. ``Sunday, we were up 30 percent over last year. When I calculated that, I called the counters and said 'can this be right?' and it really was. The parking structure was at capacity by 2 p.m.''

Meanwhile, sales increased nationally from last year by a modest amount as shoppers responded to continuing holiday sales.

``It's a big gain in total dollars, but it's only a moderate gain in rate of increase,'' said Bill Ford, senior economic adviser for check-acceptance firm TeleCheck.

Sales increased 2.1 percent nationally, and 1.3 percent in California, a performance Ford called ``anemic.''

He explained the disparity between mall traffic and greater retail sales by pointing to the poor weather that kept shoppers away from strip malls and free-standing stores. Additionally, he said, this is a traditionally slower week.

``When people go out after Thanksgiving, it's more of a look-see, rather than a buying trip, so this tends to be the slowest weeks of the entire Christmas period,'' he said. ``Based on past experience, we're expecting a heavy rush later on.''

But according to local merchants, things picked up dramatically over the weekend.

``The season's been down so far, but in the last few days, we've met sales at the same rate as last year,'' said Denise Williams, owner of Lavenders' Hallmark in Sherman Oaks. ``Sales are going to pick up.''

This will likely be fueled by early-bird shoppers, who will be out in force, according to a study published Monday by America's Research Group. The Charleston, S.C.-based market research firm said 74.8 percent of those polled in its survey express satisfaction with knocking the shopping out early.

``This will be the earliest Christmas in the last 10 years,'' said C. Britt Beemer, ARG's chairman. ``Consumers don't want to fight the traffic and crowds up to Christmas. It's important to do the shopping, but people are more interested in doing other things.''

This squares with local shopping habits, as well. Aurora Sharma, an Encino homemaker, did her buying earlier to avoid coming up empty-handed.

``I'm mostly done, which is unusual for me,'' she said. ``The media's telling us that if you wait too long, everything will be gone. I don't want to miss out. It's also nice to only have to think about wrapping, not buying.''

This means jampacked days for retailers like Pajama Party, a specialty shop in Sherman Oaks Fashion Square. Store manager Becky Storey has watched traffic climb incrementally each weekend for recent weeks.

``People are buying now,'' she said. ``Last week, they browsed, now they're picking it up. They know if they don't get it now, they won't get it later.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Denise Williams, owner of Lavenders' Hallmark at Fashion Square Sherman Oaks mall, changes her window display.

(2 -- color) Hanukkah gifts are on display at Lavenders' Hallmark at Fashion Square Sherman Oaks.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer