Early birds get head start on holiday shopping

NEW YORK (AP) _ Turkey, schmerky. Where are the bargains? <br><br>Many Americans woke before dawn Friday and packed the nation's malls for a post-Thanksgiving tradition: Getting a running start on

Friday, November 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Turkey, schmerky. Where are the bargains?

Many Americans woke before dawn Friday and packed the nation's malls for a post-Thanksgiving tradition: Getting a running start on present-buying season, enticed as always by sales.

At KB Toys in the Franklin Mills outlet mall in Philadelphia, store clerk Karen Kalbacher, 23, already felt ``beaten up'' by 6 a.m. after handing out plastic bags for shoppers.

``It's like being a lineman. We were slammed into each other. They were snatching bags faster than I could hand them out,'' she said. ``You work in a toy store a couple of years, you hate the holidays.''

Hundreds of people already in line rushed in when KB's doors opened at 5 a.m., snapping up early-morning bargains like the $80 scooter on sale for $29.99 and a $45 Tekno ``robot puppy'' selling for $19.99.

Some gift shoppers didn't wait for Friday to get going. Online retailers reported brisk traffic on Thanksgiving as Internet shopping entered its third full-blown holiday season.

Mark Goldstein, chief executive officer at Kmart's Bluelight.com, reported that traffic to that Web site was up 20 percent to 30 percent on Thursday, drawn by popular items such as Martha Stewart's line of kitchenware and the robotic dog Poo-Chi.

``This is our first holiday season, and we are optimistic,'' he said. ``We've trained all season for this, and now the intense race begins.''

The temperature in Bismarck, N.D., was 12 degrees, but that didn't stop shoppers from going to their local Wal-Mart.

Brandon Bragan, 13, and a friend, Stephanie Feist, 14, arrived at 4 a.m., two hours before the doors opened.

Next year, Bragan said, ``I'm bringing hand warmers.''

Mark Anderson, 32, of Bismarck was drawn to the store by bargain prices on various items. Anderson, who was laid off from his job as a motorcycle safety instructor, said he is worried about the economy.

But, he added, ``It's kind of fun to watch everybody go nuts.''

In Little Rock, Ark., hundreds of people braved possible flash floods and waited in line for a Toys R Us store to open.

Lynn Staten, 39, arrived before 6 a.m., hoping to buy a $50 Ferris wheel with 1,000 parts for her 7-year-old son.

While the $50 toy was not on sale, ``they said it's available,'' said Staten.

Linda Corrado, 31, of Philadelphia had a Tekno puppy in one of her several bags as she strolled out of KB Toys at Franklin Mills shortly after 6 a.m. She had spent $304 at the toy store and, like most shoppers, was heading straight to another store.

All the shopping frenzy was music to retailers' ears.

``So far, it's a lot heavier than last year already,'' said Pat Moran, manager at the KB store. ``You never know from year to year what the customers are going to buy.''

Confronted with signs of sluggish consumer spending, retailers nationwide are banking on a combination of discounts and intense advertising to woo shoppers this holiday season.

``Christmas will be decent but not spectacular,'' said Kurt Barnard, publisher of Barnard's Retail Trend Report, based in Upper Montclair, N.J. ``You won't see the binge buying you saw last year.''

Barnard and other analysts expect about a 3 percent to 4 percent sales increase at stores this holiday shopping season, compared with 7 percent last year. Even online sales are slowing, with sales projections in December of $11.6 billion _ up from last year's $7 billion, according to Jupiter Research. In previous years, holiday sales were known to double or triple.

After ringing up total sales of $186 billion on such items as DVD players and pashmina shawls last Christmas, retailers are less bullish this year. Rising fuel prices and the stock market's volatility helped make consumers much more cautious about spending on nonessentials. Earlier this month, the Conference Board, a New York-based research group, reported that the consumer confidence index fell sharply during October.

Arel Axtmann, who was shopping for her 7-year-old son at the Wal-Mart in Bismarck, said Friday she is planning to spend more money on gifts this year than last, but not because she is doing better financially.

``I have another credit card this year,'' she said.