Lifestyle Magazine Curating Travel, Food, Tech, Celebrities And Events

Black Friday retail sales and record traffic were experienced at Fashion Show, Meadows Mall and The Boulevard Mall, according to Laurie Paquette, vice president of asset management for General Growth Properties (GGP) Las Vegas. GGP owns and manages the five Las Vegas centers encompassing more than 5 million square feet, including The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and The Shoppes at The Palazzo, in addition to those mentioned above.

“Traffic and sales were brisk and significantly up from last year,” said Paquette, who estimates a 20 percent increase in traffic at Fashion Show. “Over 90% of stores surveyed on Black Friday reported that sales expectations were met if not exceeded. That’s a significant number and one that strongly supports an uptick in sales this holiday shopping season. The energy level, fueled by dozens of exciting midnight openings and door buster specials, was palpable throughout the centers.”

According to Paquette, Macy’s led the midnight madness at Fashion Show, Meadows Mall and The Boulevard Mall, where cash registers remained 10 to 20 people deep throughout the day. “Many retailers that had planned on opening later in the morning threw their doors open early once they arrived,” said Paquette. “For example, Brookstone at Fashion Show had planned to open at 6 a.m. but opened their doors at 4:30 a.m. based on the volume of people already at the center.”

Another trend evident at Fashion Show was the number of tourists, especially those from Canada, where there is no Black Friday. According to Paquette, several retailers cited brisk business from Canadians who came with empty suitcases and fat pocketbooks to take advantage of Black Friday deals and values.

Thanksgiving Day openings at Old Navy at The Boulevard Mall and Forever 21 at Fashion Show also played a role in boosting consumer interest and extending the Black Friday sales period, Paquette said. “Retailers are listening to their customers who have requested early openings to accommodate a variety of work schedules, especially in Las Vegas where casino and hospitality workers typically work through the holiday season,” said Paquette.

Even at GGP’s tourism retail centers that are open 365 days per year, retail sales were also up significantly over previous years due to The Venetian’s “Winter in Venice” event and promotion. Sales and traffic were up by an estimated 10 percent over 2010 at The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and The Shoppes at The Palazzo. Photo credit: Courtesy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Las Vegas News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.