No one went to the extreme shown in Thanksgiving Day ads, munching on turkey in store parking lots while waiting for stores to open the next day. But many Tristate shoppers were up and at 'em at daybreak Friday.

        As the traditional kick-off to the holiday retail season got off to an early start, parking lots in places such as Florence and Springdale were almost full as early as 7 a.m.

Nancy Morner (left) and Victoria Bennett (center) drag their purchases at Northgate Mall in Colerain Township. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        “I've been out since 5 this morning and had to wait in lines at Target and Sears,” early bird Angie Palmer of Colerain Township said while taking a breather at Northgate Mall. “There's a lot of people to buy for so you have to look for bargains.”

        Many stores such as Kmart, Wal-Mart and even anchor stores in area malls opened their doors for special sales as early as 5 a.m., with area Kmarts not closing until 11 p.m. Sunday — a 66-hour marathon.

        Some retailers coupled the early openings with some of the deepest price cuts seen in years, but whether it's enough to stave off less-than-ordinary returns remains to be seen.

        According to retail experts, many consumers are planning to cut back this year because of worry over the economy, a 5.4 percent unemployment rate, the lingering effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

        The National Retail Federation, a Washington-based trade group, predicts that total holiday retail sales, which excludes restaurant and auto sales, will rise in the range of 2.5 percent to 3 percent, to roughly $206 billion. That would make it the worst retail performance since 1990, when sales were basically unchanged.

Three-year-old Evan Bockover of Greensburg, Ind., gets a hug from Santa at Northgate Mall. | ZOOM |

        But according to a Conference Board survey, Americans will spend an average of $462 a household this Christmas, down from $490 last year, meaning a potential drop in spending of about $50 billion.

        This looms over the retail sector, especially since consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the overall economy.

        “Still, our anecdotal reports show that people are out there and continuing the traditions of "Black Friday,'” National Retail Federation spokesman Scott Krugman said Friday, referring to the fact that many retailers count on the day after Thanksgiving to kick off a holiday season that gets them into the black.

        “Whether that converts into sales, we don't know yet,” Mr. Krugman said. “But people are seeing prices and sales now that they would normally have not seen until mid-December. That means that if you want to get what you want, you'd better shop early, especially with a lot of our retailers cutting back on inventories.”

        That could switch a trend that has seen the week before Christmas accounting for most of the holiday sales.

        Some retailers said crowds were smaller than in previous years, an observation shared by Pete and Mary Ann Weingartner of Fairfield.

        “It's a little lighter this year,” Mr. Weingartner said, noting fewer shoppers at Tower Place Mall during their traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping trip to downtown.

        Yet Tri-County Mall assistant general manager Bill Caruso said retailers were reporting an excellent start to the holiday shopping season, with many already meeting monthly sales goals as early as Wednesday.

        Barb Piner, manager of the Charming Gold jewelry kiosk at Florence Mall, said Friday was the second best opening day in her seven years at the mall.

        “I have no idea (why),” Ms. Piner, of Rabbit Hash, said. “I haven't had time to get into these conversations. People are buying multiples instead of just one.”

        And other malls bustled with activity. Parking was tight everywhere, but few traffic jams were reported. Sandra Holzwarth, marketing director at Kenwood Towne Centre, reported that the shopping crowd was comparable to past years, and parking was causing no problems.

        Florence Mall spokeswoman Elena Miller said shopper traffic was much higher compared to other post-Thanksgiving kickoffs, adding that parking lots were 90 percent full by lunchtime.

        “There was a lot of shoving inside the stores,” said Debbie Miller of Cleves, who began her traditional after-Thanksgiving trek to Tri-County Mall at 7:30 a.m.

        “Toy stores were the worst. I actually got a bruised leg in the shoving. I've never seen it like that before,” Ms. Miller said as she lugged three large bags of presents along a mall sidewalk.

        Despite the bargains promised in commercials and fliers all week, many local shoppers, such as Joan Appling of Monfort Heights, said they were disappointed with the discounts offered.

        “We were just saying we didn't think (the deals) were as good as last year,” Ms. Appling said while shopping at Northgate Mall. “People were expecting more.”

        Staci Long of Anderson Township also said she didn't find many discounted items during her rounds at Rookwood Commons in Norwood.

        “I haven't seen the bargains any more than usual,” Ms. Long said. “Maybe there's some (bargains) in electronics, but that's not here.”

        Many malls nationally have tightened security to put consumers at ease about lingering in public places for fear of more terrorist attacks or anthrax scares.

        That didn't appear to be the case locally, however — and neither that nor the talk of recession deterred shoppers from Rookwood Commons.

        “If I don't shop, some other poor sucker is going to be out of work,” said Ann Stein of Louisville, who was visiting her sister, Carole Cornelius of Loveland. “If anything, it makes me want to shop more.”

        One shopper had a different gift idea.

        “I give money to charities in my relatives' names,” said Beth Jones, a Tennessee resident visiting her mother in Western Hills and making a stop at the Media Play in Western Hills Plaza. “Everybody was getting stuff they don't want or need. It got to the point where we were passing checks back and forth.”

       Enquirer reporters James McNair, Walt Schaefer and Ken Alltucker; contributors Jenny Callison and Ray Schaefer; and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

       

Auto dealer accused in lease scheme
Shoppers hit the malls early
Breathing distress studied
Dr. Aaron Weinstein, teacher, dead at 75
He fought from Midway to Iwo Jima
Locals to assist Graham revival
Priorities change this season
Tristate A.M. Report
UC's faculty talks show hope
Wanted in killing, man eludes police
MCNUTT: Warren County
SAMPLES: Chaotic lives
THOMPSON: Faith matters
Police watch mosque
Hotel loses historic status
School alerted about disease
Fight brews over authority
Kentucky News Briefs
New policy bans racial profiling
Newport's annual tour adds history
Used-car buyers may see refund