
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 18, 1994                   TAG: 9412190088
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MALLS JAMMED AS SHOPPERS CRAM

Saturday was one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season, but the crowds and traffic didn't scare off people like Christi Campbell.

"I think it kind of gets you in the right spirit," Campbell said as she sat on a bench at Roanoke's Valley View Mall, shopping bags at her side.

Retail analysts and consumer studies say shoppers are waiting later and later in the season to make their purchases, debunking the common belief that the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest Christmas shopping day.

The trend now is for the most sales to be racked up on Saturdays that become increasing hectic as Dec. 25 approaches, some analysts say.

With next Saturday being Christmas Eve, when many stores will close early, this Saturday was predicted to be the busiest shopping day of the season.

"It's about as hectic as we can handle," said Tom Tyree, store manager of Leggett at Valley View, as he looked at an escalator with a shopper on nearly every step.

By midday, however, there were still parking spaces to be found, and traffic was heavy but moving steadily. Tanglewood Mall also had a busy day, but did not have major problems with parking or traffic.

Still, there were lots of people like Valerie Cokendolpher, who had hoped to have all of her shopping wrapped up by now, but found herself making one last trip to the mall.

"We say we're going to do better each year, but we never do," she said.

The late-shopper scenario is supported by figures that showed retail sales increased just 1.8 percent nationally between Nov. 25 and Dec. 11. The data, collected by TeleCheck Services, Inc., suggests that shoppers are waiting later in the season to do their big spending.

But for the true procrastinators, shopping has not yet begun. Geoff Jennings, vice president of Frank Moose Jewelers in downtown Roanoke, expects a big crowd on Christmas Eve - mostly men who wait until the last minute.

"It's kind of like a fraternity party," he said. "Not very many women come in here."

by CNB