The shopping splurge that follows the Thanksgiving feast satisfied the appetites of local retailers.

Black Friday, the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, did not disappoint retailers at Independence Mall and at Mayfaire Town Center, spokeswomen said the following Monday.

“I would say that we started off the holidays very well,” said Susan Godorov, mall spokeswoman and vice president of marketing for Centro Properties Group.

Overall, the stores showed higher sales than last year’s disappointing season. “We had some (stores) up as much as 60 percent over last year,” she said. 

The Christmas shopping forecast looks good, Godorov said, adding that retailers were controlling inventory more so than last year. As a result, retailers won’t have to slash prices and their profit margins to move stock.
Sue Rice, director of operations at Mayfaire Town Center, also said retailers were encouraged by the number of shoppers.

“It was a huge day out here,” she said of Black Friday. “There wasn’t a parking spot to be had.”

Rice said shoppers appeared to be more careful with their money than in the past, but they were shopping, and starting to shop earlier than usual.

A new promotion this year offering a $15 gift card for every $250 spent shopping in a day at Mayfaire also had proven successful, she said.

Other retailers also say sales rose, including the Crescent Moon shop at The Cotton Exchange downtown.  “I think the volume was up,” said Mike Loch, who works alongside his wife, Joan, the store’s owner.

This trend wasn’t mirrored nationally, however, according to a survey of shoppers conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The survey conducted for the world’s largest trade association during the shopping peak found that while the number of shoppers increased, they spent less. An estimated 195 million shoppers visited the stores from Thanksgiving through Sunday, an increase from last year’s 172 million. However, the average spent per person dipped slightly to $343.31 from 2008’s $372.57, according to a NRF news release.

“Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain, heading out to take advantage of great deals on less expensive items like toys, small appliances and winter clothes,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. “In an economy like this one, every retailer wants to be a discounter. Department stores have done an admirable job touting both low prices and good quality, which are important requirements for holiday shoppers on a budget.”

The survey found that 30 percent of the 4,985 shoppers polled, were at the stores by 5 a.m., higher than 2008’s 23.3 percent, which Phil Rist, executive vice president of Strategic Initiatives for the polling company, BIGresearch, attributed to high unemployment leading to bargain hunting. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percent.

At Lumina Station’s shops, located at 1900 Eastwood Road, store owners of Airlie Moon, Harbor Club Day Spa and Ziabird reported brisk holiday sales over the Black Friday weekend.

“Sales were up about 15 to 20 percent from last Thanksgiving, but slightly below our historical average,” said Julie Robinson, owner of Airlie Moon.

Tracy Upshaw, owner of S. Burke, a jewelry store, said she didn’t see much business Black Friday, which she attributed to big-box store sales, but foot traffic and sales were good the following day.