HOLIDAY SPENDING: RETAILERS ALREADY HEARING JINGLE OF CASH REGISTERS

Consumers will spend from $1,000 to $1,400 each during the Christmas holiday shopping season.

With Halloween over and Thanksgiving next on the holiday season, it won't be long until the nation's retailers -- from discount chains to upscale department stores and toy stores to sports shops -- will start hearing the jingle of cash registers for the year's biggest holiday spending season.

The official Christmas holiday shopping season starts a week from Friday, but some people have already started buying for Christmas.

The weekend following Turkey Day, Nov. 28-30, as usual, is expected to be a big one.

"We've noticed some early Christmas shoppers," said Jim Govro, manager at West Park Mall. "We have talked with some merchants, and find that a lot of people are looking at `hot' items, electronics, and winter clothing."

And one of the `hottest' items this year appears to be the Beanie Babies.

"Any time one of the shops here get in a shipment, they're swamped," said Govro.

"We're looking at the possibility of a good season," said Govro. "A lot of Christmas sales predictions are based on the agriculture performance. This year may not be a great one for farmers, but it has been a good one.

"We're hoping for a good season," he added.

Retailers throughout Cape Girardeau are already reporting good early Christmas sales.

"We established our "Trim-A-Tree" area in early November," said Mike McKinney, manager at Target, in Cape West Business Park. "While we were filling the area, people were loading up their carts with decorations. We've had a lot of shoppers in November."

Target kicked off its holiday toy advertising last weekend.

Target, like other retailers, is expecting a good holiday season, and is preparing for the busiest shopping season of the year.

"We're offering more than 400 shopping hours after Thanksgiving," said Carolyn Brookter, media relations manager for Target, headquartered in Minneapolis.

"The day after Thanksgiving marks the onset of the most important selling period in the retail industry," said Brookter. "Our store hours will provide 401 hours to purchase holiday gifts from Nov. 28 through Dec. 24."

The traditional Christmas season, which includes the same dates, allows for 27 shopping days, including four weekends.

The downtown Cape Girardeau shopping area will go to evening and Sunday hours the final week or two before Christmas, said Judith Anne Lang, president of the Downtown Merchants Association.

"A lot of people have already been buying for Christmas," said Lang. "Business appears to be good, and we're looking to a good season."

People are allowing a certain amount to spend this year, and they will spend it, whether it's over the 27-day period after Thanksgiving, or the 37 days between now and Christmas.

A recent American Express Retail Index reveals that consumers plan to spend an average of $1,233 on gifts this season, up from the $1,100 average of last year. The totals range from the $1,064 average by women to the $1,410 average for men.

The survey also indicates a healthy holiday season.

"Shoppers responding to our survey indicate they are in a giving mood, and ready to spend," said Emelie Smith, vice president, Retail Marketing Group, American Express Travel Related Services Co., "Retailers can expect to do well this season as consumers look for quality products at a variety of stores."

More than 71 percent of the holiday budget will be for gifts, according to the survey; 11 percent will be for holiday travel, and 5 percent will go for decorations. The remainder of the budget will be spent for entertaining.

The survey further reveals that 36 percent of women and 21 percent of men started their shopping for Christmas before Oct. 1. Surprisingly, consumers with credit cards spend 40 percent of their annual card purchases between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Retail sales were actually down in October of this year, but increases were noted in clothing purchases. The Commerce Department said in its report Friday that sales totaled a seasonally adjusted $213.7 billion, down from $214.1 billion in September. But excluding the drop in autos, sales were up 0.4 percent.

Retail sales account for a third of the nation's economic activity, and the recent sluggishness has caused some concern over how robust the holiday shopping season will be. The Christmas season often accounts for half of a retailer's earnings.

Department stores did ring up a 1.1 percent increase, erasing a 0.4 percent dip a month earlier. Clothing store sales increased 0.9 percent but failed to wipe out September's 1.9 percent drop.

The American Express Retail Index indicated that toys would be second on the list of 1997 Christmas gifts, behind clothing. And, "hot items" on the toy list will be Beanie Babies, Hotwheels SuperSpeedway sets, Sing-N-Snore Ernie, a huggable figure that sings; anything Barbie, and Star Wars figures and playsets.

According to the survey, 76 percent of shoppers will be buying gifts for children, with educational toys being most popular. Children's books are second on the list, followed by dolls and stuffed animals, and board and video games.

Holiday shoppers are likely to splurge on a spouse or child. Shoppers nationally will spend up to $400 on gifts for "that special someone."

Holiday shoppers will be heading to department stores and discount departments in droves. According to the American Express survey, the top eight stores on the list of most shoppers are:

Department stores, discount department stores, clothing stores, toy stores, music/video stores, bookstores, electronics stores, and factory outlet stores.

Shoppers will use a variety of payments for purchases. Cash remains the preferred method of payment. Credit cards surpass checks as the second most popular form of payment.