TRAFFIC PATTERNS

THE BIERI REPORT: SAN DIEGO

San Diego enjoys outdoor shopping at Fashion Valley Center, the region's leading retail address and top luxury destination. University Town Center has strong traffic and an improving tenant mix. Westfield Shoppingtown Horton Plaza, a vertical entertainment center, is downtown's only true retail destination and performs well. Currently, some downtown activity exists due to the city restaurant scene and will only improve with the recent addition of a stadium and construction of a convention center and hotels. Westfield's North County Fair and Parkway Plaza Shoppingtowns are traditional super regional centers that have strong foot traffic and perform well. Along the border, Westfield Shoppingtown Plaza Bonita and Chula Vista Center enjoy foot traffic from Mexican visitors. La Jolla's street shopping district provides patrons a beautiful retail and restaurant environment by the sea.

The information presented for traffic estimates and regional malls is gained from a variety of sources used in developing the Bieri Market Reports. These sources are public and private, and may even include the developers themselves. When traffic counts are not available, grades are determined by reviewing sales of anchor stores and specialty tenants within a subject project, and then comparing those with like projects.

HOLIDAY SHOPPERS HIT THE INTERNET

Online shoppers spent a total of $8.8 billion in November (excluding travel), up 19 percent from the $7.4 billion spent a year earlier, and a jump of 62 percent from 2002, according to the Goldman Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eSpending Report. Why shop online? Those polled ranked lower prices, wider selection and avoiding crowds as the primary reasons for buying on the Internet.

ALL WORK, NO PLAY

While the number of hours spent at work, including housekeeping and studying, has not changed much in the past year, there has been a modest uptick (from 47 hours to 50 hours a week) since 2002, according to a poll by Harris Interactive Inc. The number of hours available for leisure each week has not changed from last year, but has declined dramatically from 1973 when it topped 25 hours per week. Then, the median number of work hours was well below 45.