Retailers get ready for Super Saturday shoppers

• Crowds of shoppers are expected in stores this weekend%2C the last before Christmas.
• Retailers have extended store hours to accommodate time-crunched shoppers.
• Some have hired seasonal employees to help out during the holidays.

Tired of waiting in line to buy a holiday gift? Have a mint.

That's one way employees at the J.C. Penney store at Superstition Springs Center are planning to handle the huge crowds of shoppers expected this weekend.

With Christmas less than a week away, retailers such as J.C. Penney are gearing up for a shopping frenzy by time-crunched consumers who have unfulfilled holiday gift lists. They've added employees, increased store hours and developed other measures, such as handing out mints, to make the shopping experience occur as smoothly as possible.

This weekend is expected to be one of the biggest of the year for retailers. A survey conducted last weekend by Walmart found that 62 percent of Phoenix shoppers plan to shop for last-minute gifts this Saturday, which is dubbed "Super Saturday." This is far more than the national average of 36 percent, according to the survey.

Super Saturday is typically the third-largest shopping day, after Black Friday and Thanksgiving, at the Superstition Springs' Penney's, said Bill Ahern, store manager. Shoppers expect lines at the cash registers on Black Friday, he said. But they don't on Super Saturday and so tend to get antsy, he said.

That's when store greeters will intervene, offering mints and smiles, with the hope that some of their shopping stress will melt away, he said.

Handing out mints is not the only way the Mesa store gets ready for the onslaught of shoppers. Seven temporary registers have been set up in departments not typically staffed with them, Ahern said. And more than 100 seasonal employees were hired to augment the 200 associates typically employed by the store, he said.

Macy's, which is offering an assortment of doorbuster deals this weekend, has added more than 200 workers in its Arizona stores, spokeswoman Rosemarie Robles said.

Some stores are increasing their hours to accommodate shoppers and hopefully spread out the crowds. Kohl's stores will be open for more than 100 hours straight – beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19 through 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Changing Hands is staying opening an hour earlier at its Tempe store, while J.C. Penney has expanded its hours, too: Stores will be open until midnight Friday through Tuesday, Dec. 23.

Walmart stores are helping customers get in and out quickly by creating designated areas stocked with popular last-minute gifts such as stocking stuffers, gift sets and gift cards.

Some malls and retailers are entertaining shoppers with special events.

At Desert Sky Mall in west Phoenix, shoppers can attend a posada, a Mexican tradition that commemorates the pilgrimage that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem. The event, which features dancers, singers, a puppet show, kids singing Christmas carols and a sampling of pan dulce, always attracts a big crowd, said Kimberly Hastings, spokeswoman for Macerich Malls, which operates Desert Sky.

Retailers are working to keep up inventory, so last-minute shoppers have choices. Shipments are continually arriving at Walmart stores, according to Scott McCall, the retailer's merchandising vice president. The Superstition Springs J.C. Penney is getting a truck of merchandise delivered daily through the season, Ahern said.

Independent businesses also have geared up. Changing Hands, whose two stores sell gifts as well as books, planned ahead by buying at gift shows with the holidays in mind, co-owner Gayle Shanks said. She also made sure to stock up on locally-made items, always popular with holiday shoppers, she said.

Not only are stores preparing for the crowds of shoppers this weekend, they're also providing for their employees. Many retailers, including Changing Hands and J.C. Penney, bring in food for staff at least one night but often more, so workers don't have to fight crowds at restaurants and food courts.

"I always think of my staff as my customers," Shanks said.

Reach the reporter at sue.doerfler@arizonarepublic.com.