Holiday shoppers lured with bargains

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By Heather Cobun

As a part of Simon's "Shop Smarter" holiday campaign, Potomac Mills shoppers will be encouraged to take advantage of free coffee and chair massages.

The goal is to provide a fun, low-stress shopping experience for customers, Ms. Green said. At 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, shoppers can visit the Potomac Mills Web site to see what special deals stores will be offering that night.

The appeal of midnight shopping and early hours is more than just the deals, Ms. Iacabucci said.

"It's an oddly fun event," she said, describing the excitement of being in a mall at a time when most people should be at home in bed.

She also cited a theory that the longer people stay in a mall, the more money they will spend, which makes staying open nearly 24 hours a worthwhile investment for malls.

Other malls choose to open early Friday. Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and Fashion Centre at Pentagon City will open at 5 a.m. Black Friday.

"We're providing a really comfortable place for people to feel the holiday spirit," said Susan Davis, director of mall marketing and business management at Lakeforest Mall.

The first 300 shoppers in line at 8 a.m. Friday can participate in the mall's fifth annual Pop and Shop, which allows them to pop a balloon containing gift cards and other freebies from stores throughout the mall.

Lakeforest Mall also will offer extra resting places, called "rejuvenation stations," featuring big-screen televisions, free coffee, books and magazines.

Pentagon City will offer similar amenities when it opens at 5 a.m. "We're here to try to make their experience a little more unique," said Shane Kelley, director of mall marketing and business management.

Retailers and malls that choose to open earlier than usual are banking on the extra hours of shopping time giving them extra money in the cash registers, although they have no way of knowing what their sales would be if they did not.

"There will always be this nagging question of whether sales actually improve," said Ms. Iacobucci.