Snow buried Saturday sales in stores

Heavy snow this past weekend not only blanketed neighborhoods and snarled traffic but also kept shoppers away from area malls and stores during one of the most important shopping days of the year.

"We were off 20 percent from what we had expected," said Braden Govoni, one of the owners at Carytown Bicycle Co. in Richmond.

The Saturday before Christmas historically is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But the storm that battered the East Coast, from the Carolinas to New York, may have put at least a $2 billion dent in Saturday's sales, which usually accounts for $15 billion worth of sales nationwide, according to weather research firm Planalytics.

"Traffic was slow on Saturday, less than a normal Saturday, much less than the Saturday before Christmas should be," said Jack Romaine, general manager of Regency Square mall in Henrico County.

For many area merchants, the bad weather wiped out what was shaping up to be a decent holiday shopping season.

"The season was going well so far, but the storm will likely have a lasting impact," Romaine said.

A snowstorm the Saturday before Christmas is about as bad as it gets for retailers, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group.

Because of the storm, many consumers turned to the Web.

To draw in those shoppers, retail Web sites including Macy's and J.C. Penney offered free express shipping Sunday.

On Friday and Saturday, online sales rose 24 percent from the same days last year, Web research company Coremetrics said. It also showed the average shopper spending and ordering more on Saturday, when the weather's effects were deepest, than Friday.

Retail Web traffic peaked at 2.9 million visitors per minute Saturday night, according to the Akamai Retail Net Usage Index. That was up from 1.9 million on the Saturday before Christmas in 2008, though that day — Dec. 20 — was closer to Christmas than this year.

The Sunday peak was 3.5 million visitors per minute, compared with 2.2 million on the Sunday before Christmas last year.

Carytown Bicycle's Govoni said the store ran a last-minute sale for those shopping on Saturday. It sent customers a message Friday about the sale via its Twitter

feed, Facebook page and by e-mail.

"Basically, we told people if you're crazy enough to go out in this weather, you'll be reimbursed," he said.

Now that the storm is gone, some bricks-and-mortar stores are opening earlier and closing later and boosting more promotions to get people inside to shop. Toys R Us is adding hours to some 300 stores along the East Coast. Borders is staying open until midnight starting yesterday and through tomorrow at its stores in Virginia.

Representatives at Short Pump Town Center, Regency Square and Chesterfield Towne Center said traffic was heavy on Sunday. Several area retailers said yesterday they are cautiously optimistic that the season can be salvaged and shoppers will hit the stores this week.

Denise Smith, marketing manager at Chesterfield Towne Center, said she is taking a "wait-and-see" approach.

"Based on what we saw [Sunday], people have shopping bags in hands and they are lining up at cash registers," Smith said.

At Short Pump Town Center, marketing director Misty Parson said it's hard to say at this point how — or if — retailers will be affected. "We're optimistic about the remainder of this week and the days following Christmas," she said.

But Regency Square's Romaine is not sure retailers will able to recover from the storm.

"Everyone took a big hit on Saturday and it is doubtful that they will make that up, even if we are busy right through Christmas Eve," he said.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.