Faye Murman/Courier-Post

By EILEEN SMITH
Courier-Post Staff

An avalanche of shoppers swept into stores Monday, rushing to make up for time lost over the weekend, when most consumers were snowed in by a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on South Jersey.

"Saturday and Sunday should have been our biggest days -- but the snow killed us," said Bob McCarthy, who operates a kiosk at Moorestown Mall.

On Monday, customers were scurrying to buy Zhu Zhu Pets from McCarthy, who flew a planeload of the automated hamsters direct from the factory in China.

"We had two people who came down from Staten Island," he said. "Another guy bought 256 Zhu Zhus and sent them to Japan."

Vehicles bearing consumers shaking off cabin fever and children enjoying a day off from school jammed Route 38, Route 70 and Route 73 on Monday, many heading to malls and big box centers.

"I still have a few more stops, including Wal-Mart," said Rose Madigan of Marlton after bagging bargains at Boscov's and Sears.

Madigan's plans to shop Saturday were put on ice by the storm. Most stores closed early, in keeping with public safety warnings to stay off the roads.

It was the first major snow to hit the week before Christmas since 1967.

And it could not have come at a worse time for retailers, who were counting on what is traditionally the biggest sale day of the year to heat up lukewarm sales.

"Retailers really can't make up that lost day and a half of sales," said Fred Fox, CEO of Planalytics in suburban Philadelphia, which analyzes how the weather affects sales. "People will go ahead and buy the gifts on their lists but the retailers will miss out on add-on sales, the items people buy because they are in the store."

The merchants hit hardest by the storm are regional retailers such as Reading, Pa.-based Boscov's, because all its properties are in the snow belt, Fox said. National retailers such as Macy's and Best Buy have stores in other regions that can help to offset sales lost in the storm.

Even pharmacies, grocers and convenience stores, which typically benefit from pre-storm buying sprees, were left out in the cold.

"The storm was so well forecasted there wasn't that last-minute rush," Fox said.

Although statistics weren't available, anecdotal evidence indicates a number of snowbound consumers shopped online.

"Toys R Us would be able to convert a good bit of traffic online with the promise of free shipping and delivery by Christmas," Fox said.

To counteract Mother Nature, retailers are calling on Father Time, adding store hours to give shoppers more chances to spend.

Target is keeping most stores open until midnight, an hour later than last year. Borders also is extending hours until midnight and Toys R Us will stay open until 1 a.m. Macy's at Cherry Hill Mall is operating around the clock until 6 p.m. Christmas Eve. And L.L. Bean at the Promenade at Sagemore in Marlton is open 24 hours a day until 5 p.m. on Dec. 24.

At Moorestown Mall, shoppers stood shoulder to shoulder Monday at Bath & Body Works, where the store was giving away three items from its signature beauty collection with the purchase of three.

Rosemary Rufo of Cherry Hill spied the Zhu Zhu kiosk, snapped open her mobile phone and called a friend who had been looking for the elusive playthings.

"I had never actually seen one before," she said. "But my friend was so excited she asked me to buy two."

McCarthy is charging $19.99 for Zhu Zhus, including the top-selling Mr. Squiggle, who is fetching as much as $39.99 on eBay.

On Monday, Wal-Mart rolled out the first of three Zhu Zhu promotions, selling at least 60 of the pets at each of its stores to customers who line up and get a number before stores open at 7 a.m.

The price tag: $9.

Reach Eileen Smith at (856) 486-2444 or esmith@courierpostonline.com.
Additional Facts
DEADLINES

• A look at shipping deadlines for major online retailers to guarantee delivery by Christmas. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
• Amazon.com: Tuesday for two-day and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for one-day shipping. Some gifts can be ordered and delivered Christmas Eve with local express shipping in certain cities like New York and Seattle.
• Walmart.com: Wednesday, for one-day shipping before Christmas.
• Target.com: Tuesday for standard shipping, Tuesday for one-day shipping.
• JCpenney.com: 1 p.m. Wednesday with express-delivery service. By Tuesday for half-off express shipping.
• BestBuy.com: 11 a.m. Tuesday for standard shipping, and 11 a.m. Wednesday for express shipping.

via Retailers, shoppers make up snow day | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.

John Jablonowski/for the Courier-Post

Many people have holiday traditions, like decorating the Christmas tree with family or lighting the candles of the menorah together.

I have a holiday tradition that I share with myself every year. It's called "How long can I wait before going shopping?"

And this year, I may be going for a new record...

It's December 15, and I haven't even been inside a retail store since Black Friday. (I was there on Black Friday to cover shopping news for the Courier-Post, not to actually purchase anything.)

Luckily, many retailers are extended their shopping hours even more for the late shoppers, like myself.

(Click here to see the Cherry Hill Mall's extended shopping hours.)

With extended hours, I can't really complain that my work schedule gets in the way.

I don't know what it is that makes me want to avoid the stores so much.

I'm not completely adverse to crowds or noise. I think it's just the shopping itself that I've never had a passion for. I don't like sifting through racks of clothes, moving from store to store, trying things on, inspecting items, and spending hours wandering the mall.

I never inherited the shopping gene.

I did, however, inherit the procrastinating gene.

I remember hearing stories about how one of my grandfathers would wait until the stores were about to close on Christmas Eve until he went out to find something for my grandmother.

Clearly, the inventory is a bit more sparse at that time, but, he would manage to find something that he thought she'd like.

I've tried to avoid shopping in the past by making a gift, rather than purchasing it. I don't consider to be very talented at the visual arts. I can't paint or sculpt, but I can knit scarves. Unfortunately, the only thing that I can knit is scarves, so after using every color and yarn-type, there's really nothing more I can do with scarf knitting at the moment.

When I asked my 17-year-old brother what he would like for Christmas this year, he had a one word answer for me. Without hesitation he said, "Cash."

Giving someone cash as a gift always reminds me of the Seinfeld episode, "The Deal":

Elaine: Cash?
Jerry: Would do you think?
Elaine: You got me cash?
Jerry: Well this way I figure you can go out and get yourself whatever you want. No good?
Elaine: Who are you, my uncle?

I guess I'm just feeling a lack of inspiration when it comes to gifts. If I had any ideas, it would make shopping a little easier.

But in the age of commercials that stress the same old things over and over again, it's hard to feel like I can find a gift that will be unique and appreciated.

Any advice from experienced shoppers out there would be much appreciated. Please comment if you have an idea of a great gift, that's a little different from the rest.

And to the other procrastinating shoppers out there - Good luck!

Al Schell/Courier-Post

An aunt-and-niece shopping duo were celebrating their 10th anniversary of Black Friday shopping in Cherry Hill.

Christina Beri and her aunt, Theresa Tolotta, both of Cherry Hill, said the only disagreement they had was how early to wake up and hit the stores.

"We always look at ads the night before," said Beri, who had been shopping with Tolotta since 7a.m.

"There were no hot buys for me today," said Beri. "But we do buy ourselves those little me-to-me presents." Upon leaving Toys R Us on Route 38, the pair had plans for more stores before taking a break.

"Every year we stop at the same place for lunch," said Tolotta. "We're traditionalists."

via Pair celebrates shopping tradition | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.

Al Schell/Courier-Post

Visit the Courier-Post Web site for news, photo galleries and store information while shopping on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season.

You can also join the conversation by using the Twitter hashtag #shopsj to inform other South Jersey shoppers of deals, crowds and hot buys.

Al Schell/Courier-Post

Foot traffic at Garden State Park is steady this morning, if a little light. Shoppers are mostly concentrated in bargain-conscious big-box stores like Best Buy. Fewer than a handful of consumers were seen during stops to smaller retail stores like Kay's Jewelers and J.Jill.

In the worst economic climate in several generations, retailers can only be thankful that post-Thanksgiving shopping has become an evergreen American tradition.

People were seen carting out flat-screen TVs, bikes, and kitchen appliances to the Garden State parking lot today, but the frenzy that's marked Black Fridays of yesterday was notably absent.

That's not to say there weren't deals to be had.

"I don't think we've ever gone without a Black Friday shopping spree," said Lindsey Butler of Marlton, browsing the TVs at Best Buy with her mother and brother. The Butlers were eyeing purchases for the family home - easier to do since the extended family began a Pollyanna gift exchange two years ago.

Collingswood's Unique Morris entered the electronics and appliance chain with a definite game plan.

"I compared the circulars from Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart. The prices here are more competitive and they have more - Wal-Mart's sold out," the nurse said, with a $25 Epson Stylus printer tucked in her shopping cart. The "great deal" was a present to herself, she said.

via Garden State Park discounters doing well | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.

John Jablonowski/for the Courier-Post

You might know what big stores you want to visit on Black Friday, but would you like to expand your retail repertoire?

If so, go to the Courier-Post's Attractions Guide to learn more about the dozens of shopping centers and shopping districts in South Jersey.

Find out which stores are at each center, and see what the shopping districts such as Collingswood, Haddonfield and others have planned for the holidays - everything from carriage rides to photos with Santa.

Go to www.courierpostonline.com/attractions.

Plus, don't forget to use the Twitter hashtag #shopsj to discuss Black Friday deals, discounts and dilemmas.

Click here to follow Cherry Hill InJersey on Twitter. Click here to follow the Courier-Post on Twitter.

via Check C-P guide for shopping options | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.

Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-Post file

Social media tools may be your best bet for the hottest Black Friday 2009 sales deals in South Jersey.

Be sure to check Twitter for the #shopsj hashtag -- and feel free to use it yourself -- for updates on all the latest deals in the South Jersey region.

Nationwide, Twitter and Facebook already are turning up as among the best places to see the latest deals.

Office supplies chain Staples Inc. used social media to advertise price cuts of nearly 50 percent for Nov. 27 on certain laptops, GPS devices and computer monitors, and still other merchants are expected to follow suit.

Dan de Grandpre, editor-in-chief of dealnews.com, said retailers are smart to use social networking sites because shoppers probably will stick around as followers of the company even after the sale.

"Twitter and Facebook are now major ways to disseminate information," Grandpre said.

Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-Post file

One in five shoppers plans to use the sites in their holiday shopping this season, according to Deloitte Research.

Hundreds of Black Friday bargains from retailers such as diverse as OfficeMax and Old Navy already are being leaked on deal sites, even though the big sales blitz is still a week away.

And the fun won't end Nov. 27, traditionally seen as the day that the holiday shopping season launches.

After that, an iPhone application from dealnews.com that now tracks Black Friday deals, for instance, will show sales for the following Monday, now known as Cyber Monday because it's the first weekday after the Thanksgiving weekend and many consumers shop from their desks that day.

via Black Friday sales 2009: Use #shopsj for all the latest | courierpostonline.com | Courier-Post.

Jose F. Moreno/Courier-Post

David Zarfati, a boutique owner with locations at the Jersey Shore and upstate New York, is one of the retailers that benefited from vacancies at the Cherry Hill Mall. He opened BackStage Couture, taking advantage of shorter lease terms and a rare opportunity to have retail neighbors like Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel and Urban Outfitters.

“When you’re a small business, it’s difficult unless you have a good concept and plans for a nice build-out — something that’s up to the standards of the mall,” said Zarfati, who invested $225,000 on the store, which has a two-year lease. “We hope we can stay after that because we invested a lot in the build-out. We felt we had a good enough product, but it’s a risk. You invest a lot and you hope they keep you on after two years.”

Read more at: Economy changes style of malls - Philadelphia Business Journal:.

AVI STEINHARDT/Courier-Post

via New look for Haddonfield Road | Courierpostonline.com.

By JANE ROH
Courier-Post Staff

More new stores are popping up on an already bustling stretch of Haddonfield Road.

Construction is under way on a new Beneficial Bank, CiCi's Pizza and Chipotle Mexican Grill at 818 Haddonfield Road, across the street from Garden State Park.

Processing on parking permits is still ongoing, Cherry Hill officials said, but developer Jay Several of Several Properties Group hopes that the strip will be open for business by the holiday shopping season.

Several Properties purchased the site for $2.4 million in May of last year. Due to the permits process and a soggy spring, construction started in June.

The site was originally home to a branch of Fromm Electric, a Reading, Pa.-based electrical and lighting supplier. The Fromm branch was shuttered in 2004, after which the property went dark save for several months out of the year when a Halloween shop operated there, township officials said.

Several said he was able to recycle much of the building, a boon to him financially and to the area environmentally.

"Instead of just tearing everything down and filling up a landfill, we used a majority of the existing steel building," Several said. "We took a building that was an eyesore, that was sitting there for years . . . and converted it into a swan."

The property also is now equipped with an ecofriendly wastewater management system that will help prevent flooding.

The township does not offer financial incentives for developers to build green, though a sustainability plan that offers nonfinancial inducements for green builders is in the works, township spokesman Dan Keashen said.

Deals for more businesses to move into the 18,000-square-foot commercial space are pending, according to Several.

"We're hoping that the stores are open for business after Thanksgiving," he said.

The Montgomery County, Pa.-based developer owns two other properties in Cherry Hill.

Reach Jane Roh at (856) 486-2919 or jroh@gannett.com.

Photo provided by American Eagle

Fall fashion preview

This fall, women's fashion trends harken back to the 1980s with leggings, leather, multilayered chains (compliments of Mr. T., you remember him) and ankle boots

By BOBBI LEE HITCHON
For the Courier-Post

Considering the state of the economy, shopping this fall may not be as spontaneous as in the past. According to Gregg Andrews, Nordstrom fashion director, most women are not looking for entirely new wardrobes.

"Very few women right now are going out and buying entirely new fall wardrobes," says Andrews. "They're looking for those key items that are new, that are interesting and that also work with pieces they already have in their wardrobe, those key new items that will refresh their existing wardrobe."

Reflecting the economy, popular trends, materials and colors this fall will stand the test of time in style and form, and pair nicely with other items from previous seasons. Regardless of what key items shoppers purchase this fall, their look should create a silhouette with either a skinny bottom and bulky top or vice-versa.

Read the rest of the article at: Fall fashion preview | CourierPostOnline.com | Courier-Post.