Weekend May Set Trend

South Coast retailers are hoping the trend set by Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday will keep jingling cash register bells through the end of the year.

In Goleta, Camino Real Shopping center property manager Mark Ingalls said the entire weekend was a good one for retailers, especially Staples and Best Buy. Shoppers weren’t just looking, he said, they were buying. Along with big discounts, the warm weather also helped draw more shoppers from 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday through Sunday evening.

“It’s nice to see them taking things home,” Ingalls said. “Sometimes they just look and go home and buy online.” However, he said, more shoppers were out this year than in the past several years. Ingalls said he was optimistic that trend will continue through the holidays.

Meanwhile, Mary Lynn Harms, marketing manager for Macerich, the company that runs Paseo Nuevo and La Cumbre Plaza, said she has received very positive reports from retailers in those malls.

“Macy’s (at Paseo Nuevo) had a crowd of approximately 500 waiting in line to get in when the doors opened at midnight on Thanksgiving night,” Harms said. “Express had about 50 people waiting to get in at their midnight opening.”

She said the Gap clothing store offered savings of up to 60 percent off its wares and had a consistent line at the cash register all day Friday. “Overall, Paseo Nuevo had strong traffic throughout the weekend,” Harms said. “Many Black Friday Sales continued through the weekend.”

Meanwhile, at Macerich’s other South Coast outdoor mall, La Cumbre Plaza, sales also were brisk, Harms said.

“Tiffany’s reported a strong weekend and so did William’s Sonoma.” Harms said. “Sears and Macy’s both had lines waiting to get in on Black Friday. Traffic was steady all weekend.”

Small Business Saturday, started just a couple of years ago, was not as big a success as some merchants had hoped it would be, but it’s still an idea retailers embrace. “I think it’s a good thing,” said Jill-Marie Carre at Chocolats du CaliBressan in La Arcada Mall on State Street. “But I only had four or five people who knew about it come in on Saturday.”

Nationwide, Cyber Monday online retail sales increased about 18 percent compared to 2010, a record $1.2 billion, according to industry analysts.

Millions of shoppers browsed on their computers at work to take advantage of online-only discounts retailers offered. Last year, Cyber Monday ranked as the top day of the year for online spending, according to ComScore Inc., which tracks this type of spending.

Many retailers, such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are trying to transform Cyber Monday into a week of online shopping.

Holiday Mixer

The annual Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Holiday Mixer will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec 13 at El Torito Restaurant on Cabrillo Blvd.

New restaurant manager Richard Leal will be the host.

Canary Business

The Canary Hotel, 31 W. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara, will open its rooftop for one day from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 14, for its “Bring Your Own Business Party-Share.”

To support the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s holiday food drive, guests are encouraged to bring a canned good or food for donation and be entered in Canary’s raffle drawing for an overnight stay.

For $35 or $50 per person, including two drink tickets, guests can have hors d’oeuvres, seasonal drinks such as hot apple cider, cocktails from cash bars and mingle to the sounds of holiday music while taking in one of the best view’s Santa Barbara has to offer.

To support the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s holiday food drive, guests are encouraged to bring a canned good or food for donation and be entered in Canary’s raffle drawing for an overnight stay.

For details and to make reservations for Canary Hotel’s Rooftop Party-Share, contact the Catering Department at (805) 879-9144. Reservations require three business days in advance.