PEABODY — The season of giving transitioned quickly into the season of exchanges, deals and gift card shopping.
At the Northshore Mall yesterday, buyers were doing their part to spare retailers their worst season in recent memory.
Retail sales fell between 5.5 percent and 8 percent during the holiday season compared with last year, according to preliminary data from a division of MasterCard Advisors.
That didn't stop Piri Collard of Peabody from making her annual after-Christmas trip to the mall with her daughter Renee, 11, and friend Gianna Forlizzi, 11. The trio came in search of clothing deals and walked away pleased.
"We made out well today," Gianna said.
Piri Collard picked up a coat at half off from New York and Co. and the girls landed items from Aeropostale. Renee wasted no time sporting her newly purchased $20 brown down vest with fur hood.
They arrived late in the morning, went to about seven stores and had lunch in between.
Piri Collard said the mall had grown more crowded as the day passed, but she thought there were fewer shoppers than in years past.
It's what industry specialists were also seeing.
Jon Hurst, president of Massachusetts Retailers Association, said overall most retail sales numbers were down a bit this year compared to last. Stores struggled with plans for how much to order, how much to charge, and how many people to hire in a year of unprecedented financial upheaval.
"This is not like a normal holiday season," he said. "This was a big unknown."
This shopping season presented three major hurdles for Massachusetts retailers: the economy, fewer shopping days and the weather, Hurst said
"Those three strikes made it a pretty tough season," he said.
Stores rely on impulse buys, Hurst said. With 27 days to shop this year compared to 32 days last year and two weekends of icy, snowy weather, buyers had less time to be impulsive.
So more shops were putting their hopes on after-Christmas sales.
"This coming week is always very important," he said. "Stores can do 10 to 15 percent (of sales) between Christmas and New Year's."
The association president was optimistic consumers would feel more confident to go out and shop.
"After everything we've been through, it could have been a whole lot worse," he said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed."
James Hankins of Swampscott stopped by the Apple Store yesterday to search for just the right protective gear for his new iTouch. After, he planned to make a couple of returns and scope out potential deals, but only if they were too good to turn down.
"If something grabs me, I'll grab it," Hankins said.
Matt Gallagher of Beverly came just to return one gift and meet his wife for lunch.
"I didn't feel like dealing with the lines and stuff," he said.
Parking wasn't too bad because he knew where to park, next to Barnes & Noble, Gallagher noted.
Jessica Roberts and Carissa Ricupero of Winthrop came together to use their gift cards and spend Christmas cash.
They planned to spend at least three hours hunting down deals at favorite stores like H&M, American Eagle and Macy's.
Ricupero said she clipped coupons before their visit to reap greater benefits for their day out shopping.
Kate Lynch, assistant manager of Lush, said traffic at the organic cosmetics shop had been slow but steady yesterday. "People who have been coming have been buying well," she said.
Lynch had seen more shoppers around noontime than earlier in the day.
As for their first season at the mall, she had seen an uptick in buyers the last two days before Christmas, once the weather subsided, but no "big booms."
The assistant manager hoped special promotions like buy-one-get-one free on wrapped holiday gifts and two free holiday items with the purchase of bulk soap would be a big draw.
The promotion will continue while supplies last, Lynch added, making yet another push for sales.
Associated Press reports were used for this story.
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