Shoppers curb spending, not enthusiasm

Putting Norman Rockwell on hold, Harash Habibzadeh passed up a Thanksgiving dinner with his fiancee, family and friends to stake out a spot in line outside the Wal-Mart at Fair Lakes Shopping Center.

He and some friends bundled up in layers Thursday night and gathered around a space heater, braving near-freezing weather for a chance to snag some of the best deals of the holiday shopping season when the Fairfax store opened its doors at 4 a.m. Friday.

When the doors opened at the nearby Fair Oaks Mall, “Black Friday” shoppers were out in force, undeterred by forecasts of a gloomy sales season.

Sandy Molyneux and daughter Stephanie were one of many mother-daughter teams combing their way through the shopping center to take advantage of retail specials — in their case, 30 percent off merchandise at Pacific Sunwear.

“We go every year, not that we need anything,” said Ms. Molyneux of Gainesville, Va.

Like other bargain-hunters, the pair said concerns about an economic downturn curbed their spending this year.

“It’s slowed me down,” Ms. Molyneux said. “It’s going to be all cash.”

Back at the Fair Lakes Wal-Mart, the eye of the hurricane was in the electronics section as its feeder bands of chaos spread into the aisles. Customers carried huge televisions over their heads, stuffed them into shopping carts or dragged them along the floor.

Rita Plebuch of Chantilly, no rookie to the scene, calmly stood her ground. “This is worse than last year,” she said. “It’s quite a surprise, which is nice.”

“Many of the early birds who were there right at 5 a.m. were there for the electronics. They knew what they wanted,” said Elizabeth Anderson, Wal-Mart regional director of media and community relations. “We saw the Wiis jump off the shelf.”

Jen Miller of Manassas woke up her family at 4 a.m. to head to Manassas Mall, which was followed by a trip to Wal-Mart, a stop for breakfast, and then Fair Oaks. Among the items on the 20-year-old’s shopping list: a drill for her father, a jacket for her mother, a scarf and aftershave. Miss Miller said the crowd at Wal-Mart was “horrible.”

“You couldn’t even tell where the lines started,” she said.

At Forever 21, about 125 people were waiting outside the clothing store before it opened its doors at 5 a.m. The first 200 people received scratch-off tickets, one of which was worth a $300 shopping spree.

“It totally worked,” said District Manager Lauren Trattner, who was nearly out of breath hours later.

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