Up and down Walnut Street, retailers on campus have started adorning their windows with bright colors oozing holiday cheer.
These stores have been preparing for the holiday season long before the temperatures dropped, and they are ready in advance to meet the demands of the customers.
"Last year was our best ever, and the year before was our best ever, so we're hoping to beat last year," said Emily Conroy, assistant manager at the Black Cat, a gift shop that is a part of the White Dog Cafe. "It looks promising."
According to the National Retail Federation, holiday shopping brings in nearly a quarter of annual retail sales. It is no surprise that every shop is boosting its merchandise in anticipation of the upcoming influx of customers.
"Basically, we've beefed up our inventory and packed the store with all good stuff," Conroy said.
Preparations not only include stocking up on products, but also changing the look of the store to make the atmosphere more festive.
"We always do a big floor move, so we just finished that," Eastern Mountain Sports Manager Michelle Cieri said. "At this time, we're setting up the store so it looks like holidays, putting up lights, trees, signage, new displays."
Beyond preparing seasonal products and decor, many retailers further attract customers through sales.
For example, Smith Bros is currently running a promotion in which everything in the store is 20 percent off -- excluding items by Juicy Couture -- until Nov. 28.
Both Douglas Cosmetics and EMS will also be offering many holiday specials following Thanksgiving, according to store managers.
And what are the most popular items this season?
"The new Britney Spears 'Curious' fragrance is a must-have," Douglas Cosmetics Assistant Manager Emily Kozic said.
At EMS, "snowshoeing is actually becoming a pretty popular sport," Cieri said. "We're seeing bigger sales already even though we haven't had any snow, which is pretty exciting."
Cieri added that, as technology advances, fabrics for outerwear become more efficient at maintaining body heat, therefore no longer requiring customers to wear big, bulky jackets.
'The most popular right now is called 'Softshell,'" she said. "It's extremely lightweight, highly wind-resistant, highly water-resistant and it looks great."
And at Smith Bros, Citizens of Humanity jeans and Juicy Couture are in demand. "As soon as we get them, they go out," Assistant Manager Thyda Son said.
It looks like all of the preparation is going to pay off for the stores. "We're actually seeing a real positive trend in sales," Cieri said.
The client base for most retailers, however, is largely composed of Penn students, staff and faculty, and according to Son, "when they go for Thanksgiving break and Christmas break, we're dead."
According to the NRF, total holiday retail sales for 2004 are projected to increase 4.5 percent over the previous holiday season's, bringing holiday spending to $219.9 billion.
