Holiday sales reel in shoppers.

Byline: EDWARD RUSSO The Register-Guard

Post-Thanksgiving sales may be the superficial lure, but for Liz Canizales and other Oregonians, the best reason to go shopping on Friday was to spend time with relatives.

"It's becoming a tradition," said Canizales of Noti, who was shopping with two sisters-in-law at Gateway Mall in Springfield. "It's the thing we do together as a family."

Christy Conner of Bend and Lisa Koekkoek of Portland spent Thanksgiving in Eugene with relatives, several of whom went to stores at Valley River Center on Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Had they purchased many gifts?

"That's not the point," Conner said. "For us, the point of it is family fellowship," she said. "Female family fellowship."

Whether driven by plentiful advertising, personal relationship, or simply the desire to get gift buying out of the way, shoppers in Lane County and elsewhere hit the region's malls, shopping centers and stores. As usual, retailers were offering discounts on clothing, games, electronic gadgets and other items to entice customers through the doors.

Many shoppers drove through thick morning fog to line up outside stores that opened as early as 5 a.m. for morning-only sales.

Darci Spangler of Corvallis and sister-in-law Tonya Spangler of Veneta waited outside the Fred Meyer store on West 11th Avenue in Eugene for about 45 minutes so they could get in the store right when it opened at 5 a.m.

Afterward, the women went to Target, Wal-Mart, Shopko, Kmart and Valley River Center. They stopped shopping at noon. "I got too tired to do any more," Darci Spangler said.

In spite of having to get out of bed at 3 a.m. to drive to Eugene, she said, it's worth the effort. "The stores have good prices, and it's a fun way to spend the day with my sister-in-law," she said.

For area merchants, who employ 18 percent of Lane County's roughly 156,000 workers, the key question is whether consumers will spend enough in the 25 shopping days left before Christmas to generate a reasonable profit.

November and December sales can represent as much as one third of a store's annual sales, often making or breaking a retailer's year.

This is the third consecutive year that merchants have faced a weak economy. Earlier this week, the state Office for Economic Analysis said Oregon's recession appears to be bottoming out, though the state still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, at 7 percent.

Sales forecasts look equally glum. The International Council of Shopping Centers, for example, predicts that sales will rise 2.1 percent over last year, a meager boost by historical standards.

Many area retailers hope to prove the projections wrong. "We're a little more optimistic than that" 2.1 percent sales gain, said Bill Minihan, director of stores for the Eugene-based Emporium department store chain.

In the Eugene-Springfield area, two Wal-Marts and one Target discount store have opened in recent months, intensifying already-tough competition among stores.

In this environment, department stores and other retailers are using a variety of tactics to lure shoppers in the door, including continuous advertising campaigns that pitch discounts, rebates and limited-time sales.

Some merchants are trying to create new images for themselves. Borrowing a page from discount stores, The Bon Marche department store in Valley River Center has added shopping carts and centralized check out stands, to try to attract budget-oriented shoppers.

Merchants also are changing inventories to try to differentiate themselves from their rivals.

Emporium, for example, has added private-label brands of men's and women's clothing acquired from the Birmingham, Ala.-based Saks Inc. department store chain.

While various stores in the Saks chain, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Younker's, sell Relativity women's and Consenus men's clothing, no other stores in the Northwest carry the brands, said Peter Realmuto, Emporium's executive vice president of merchandising.

Compared with previous years, the 34-store Emporium chain also is selling more housewares, such as clocks, lamps and crystal, plus outdoor items, including bird baths and outdoor furniture.

"We have noticed that people are staying home a little more often, and are buying things for their homes," Realmuto said.

To make room for the new products, Emporium cut out some lines, such as kitchenware and table linens, he said. Those were "businesses that we didn't need to be in," Realmuto said. Consumers "can buy those anywhere."

Nationally, U.S. households will spend an average of $483 on gifts this holiday, up from $462 last year, according to the Conference Board, a business group that tracks consumer spending.

While shoppers are expected to spend more than last year, their purchases still lag behind the $490 that the Conference Board expected them to spend in 2000.

Lane County shoppers interviewed on Friday said they are going to be frugal this year.

Kevin Kraaz of Springfield, who was shopping with her husband and son at Gateway Mall, said she expects to spend about half of what she did last year. Kraaz said she'll buy fewer gifts for relatives this year, partly so she can pay for things in cash instead of putting them on credit cards.

"In the past, I spent way too much," she said.

"I'm a happy person, and I like buying gifts," Kraaz said, adding that this year, "money is not going as far as it used to."

Popular gifts this season should include toys and books - especially Harry Potter items - home furnishings, jewelry, and electronic products, including video games, DVDs and DVD players, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Business was brisk at the Video Only store in Eugene, as shoppers bought DVD players, high definition television sets, and other products, said manager Mark Menzies.

In recent months, the prices of DVD players have dropped sharply, making the items increasingly popular.

"It's crazy - busy crazy," Menzies said. "It's pretty typical for a day after Thanksgiving. The parking lot was packed this morning at 6 because people were going to Shopko. People were lined up outside the door, so we opened a little early at 6:30 (a.m.) instead of 7."

Menzies said that sales have been strong at the store all year, in spite of the poor economy. "I don't really know why," he said. "But there is a lot of stress as far as issues in the world, so people are looking for a break, and they might be spending a little more."

EXPENSIVE TASTES

Gifts suggested by the duPont Registry and the Robb Report, magazines catering to the rich:

SUBMARINE: $80 million

HIS & HERS MCLAREN FORMULA ONE CARS: $3 million

1968 MERCEDES-BENZ 600: Belonged to former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, only 30,000 miles! $295,000

BARGAIN GIFTS

Some chain stores were selling their wares for low, low prices on Friday:

27-INCH TELEVISION SETS: Both Circuit City and Wal-Mart sold them for less than $150.

BICYCLES: Wal-Mart was selling them for $24.

CORDLESS PHONES: Target was selling one popular brand model for $18.

CAPTION(S):

"For us, the point of it is family fellowship. Female family fellowship." - CHRISTY CONNER, Holiday shopper EXPENSIVE TASTES Gifts suggested by the duPont Registry and the Robb Report, magazines catering to the rich: SUBMARINE: $80 million HIS & HERS MCLAREN FORMULA ONE CARS: $3 million 1968 MERCEDES-BENZ 600: Belonged to former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, only 30,000 miles! $295,000 BARGAIN GIFTS Some chain stores were selling their wares for low, low prices on Friday: 27-INCH TELEVISION SETS: Both Circuit City and Wal-Mart sold them for less than $150. BICYCLES: Wal-Mart was selling them for $24. CORDLESS PHONES: Target was selling one popular brand model for $18.