Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 81° Today's Paper


Rain can’t keep shoppers away

Kristen Consillio
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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Robert and Lauretta Mazzotti were loaded with shopping bags Tuesday during their visit to Ala Moana Center. The visitors from Australia budgeted $5,000 to spend on shopping. They said things are less expensive here than in Australia.

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Ala Moana Center was jammed packed with after-Christmas shoppers. The rainy weather did not seem to dampen anyone’s shopping.

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Shoppers jammed Ala Moana Center on Tuesday for after-Christmas sales. Marysa Aveiro, left, and her fiance, Saga Lauvao, along with her cousin Tasha Aveiro, are loaded with merchandise from Bath & Body Works. Marysa Aveiro said she brought along her fiance so he could carry her purchases.

Christmas may be over, but that didn’t stop shoppers from flooding the malls in pursuit of major discounts that help retailers add to their sales totals for the holiday season.

Marysa Aveiro bought about 50 hand sanitizers at Ala Moana Center’s Bath &Body Works for up to 75 percent off while shopping with her cousin, who purchased another 50 hand soaps, she said.

“It’s fun cause there’s always deals after Christmas,” she said. “I think it’s a fun thing to do if you have nothing to do and you’re not working. I give it away, or I use it throughout the year.”

Dec. 26 was expected to be the fourth-busiest holiday shopping day of the year, behind Black Friday, the day before Christmas Eve and Dec. 16, according to ShopperTrak, a website that measures retail sales. Heavy rain and flooding on Oahu also seemingly had an effect on the droves of locals and tourists who opted to come to the mall.

Australian tourists Lauretta and Robert Mazzotti, who arrived on Oahu on Christmas with their three teenage children, slogged through the rain at Ala Moana Center. They started their two-week vacation with their arms full of Macy’s shopping bags while waiting in the rain for their children outside Victoria’s Secret.

“It was raining, so we thought there was no use going to any of the tourist (spots),” Lauretta Mazzotti said. “There’s more shopping to be done. Because it’s sales, it’s more value for your money today than if you bought prior to Christmas.”

The couple started putting money aside for the after-Christmas sales six months ago, she said.

“It’ll probably be a $1,000 day today,” added Robert. “It’ll be a $5,000 (shopping) holiday.”

Business was steady the day after Christmas with a significantly higher percentage of cash compared with card sales as people spent their holiday gifts, said Mitch McEwen, brand manager at Hawaiian Island Creations surf shop.

“It’s been a really good, steady day. It’s nice when it’s not too crazy. Actually, five hours early we hit our goal for the day. The fact that we’ve hit our goal so early today means it’s quite a bit up from last year,” he said of HIC’s Pearlridge Center location, which is on track to make 10 to 20 percent more in sales over the same day last year. “We expect it to be a really good week. People are coming in making new purchases — there’s almost no returns — and a lot of exchanges for different colors or different sizes, which is always good news. People aren’t taking back their money.”

Pearlridge retailer Homegrown, which sells made-in-Hawaii products, also saw a spike in daily sales Tuesday, exceeding the day’s goals within five hours of opening, said assistant manager Pohai Irvine.

“We haven’t had that much returns, and if there were any returns, most likely it turned into exchanges,” she said. “They come in waves. Sometimes it’ll die down, then all of a sudden, as soon as you’re recovering there’s just a wave of people coming in. A lot has to do with the weather. They’re definitely taking advantage of the after-Christmas sales as well. We’ve actually had an extremely successful holiday season. It has exceeded our expectations.”

Tiffany Fountain, who works at Ala Moana’s Bath &Body Works, said the store had close to a dozen registers open. She anticipated more than 10,000 customers on the first day of the company’s semiannual sale.

“We are surprised at the traffic. It’s really crazy,” she said, adding that at least 20 people were lined up before the store’s 8 a.m. opening. “We have some customers that stock up for the next Christmas already.”

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