Malls brace for snow - and year's busiest day

(File photo of 2006 Christmas Eve shoppers at Northshore Mall: Lisa Poole/AP)

Simon Property Group, which operates 18 malls in New England, said that as of just before noon today, it has no plans to modify mall hours because of a large storm predicted for the region.

The Saturday before Christmas is often the busiest day of the holiday shopping season, so a big storm wiping out sales would be another blow for retailers already reeling from a recession that has prompted many consumers to cut back on spending.

Laurel Sibert, portfolio vice president of marketing for Simon's New England malls, is optimistic that snow won't deter the determined holiday shopper.

In fact, Sibert said she's already spotted a silver lining in the weather forecast. Many consumers were given today off because of the impending storm, and some of them were using the unexpected holiday to do some shopping.

"The malls are very busy now," she said just after noon today.

In a statement e-mailed to the Globe at around 11:30 this morning, Simon Property said: “We will make determinations based on the latest available weather information, but, as of right now, all Simon Malls are scheduled to be open for their regular extended holiday hours.”

If the storm turns out to be a major one, Simon might delay openings or close early, but an entire day is rarely lost to a storm, Sibert said.

Simon shopping centers include the Mall at Chestnut Hill, Northshore Mall in Peabody, and South Shore Plaza in Braintree. Consumers can check the malls' websites tomorrow to see whether hours have been changed as a result of the storm, Sibert said; consumers can also call the mall's shopping line phone number as listed in the white pages.

At CambridgeSide Galleria, which is not a Simon mall, the Saturday before Christmas has usually been the busiest shopping day of the year for as nearly as long as he can remember, general manager Issie Shait said.

Speaking about the predicted storm just after noon today, Shait said, "Tonight will be slow at best."

But if the storm ends and storm clean-up efforts are well underway by mid tomorrow morning, he said, "We could have a decent day."

CambridgeSide Galleria's urban location gives it an advantage over suburban malls at which nearly all shoppers arrive by car; at CambridgSide Galleria, many shoppers come by public transportation.

Another bright spot: Many consumers will shop on Christmas Eve, something that wasn't always the case.

"The last few Christmas Eves, we've been very busy right up until closing," Shait said.

Meanwhile, Michael P. Niemira has been watching holiday shopping patterns for more than two decades; for the last five years, he has been the director of research and chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Over the last 15 years, the Saturday before Christmas has mostly been the busiest shopping day of the year as many consumers have fallen into the habit of putting off their holiday buying until the last minute, he said late this morning.

Surveys indicate that many consumers this year have fallen behind on their holiday shopping and will need the last few days of the season to get all their purchases done, Niemira added.

With the exception of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the 2008 holiday season has been shaping up to be "awful" for most retailers because of the recession, Niemira said, but one possible break for merchants is the fact that Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, and many consumers are expected to be taking vacation days next week.

That calendar fluke could lessen the fallout if a big snowstorm hurts sales tomorrow.

Said Niemira, "Sales lost on Saturday could shift to Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)