Ready, Set, Shop West Des Moines

Ladies and gentlemen — mostly ladies — present your debit cards.

Both of West Des Moines’ shopping malls — Valley West Mall and Jordan Creek Town Center — are opening their doors at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday, the day that traditionally starts the holiday shopping season, a make-or-break time for merchants.

At Jordan Creek, Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve enters its fifth year. Angela Jones, the mall’s marketing manager, said that if traditions hold true, 37,000 people will enter the mall during the first hour of the event and get their names into a drawing for prize giveaways.

“For a lot of women, it’s tradition,” Jones said. “They all come together, some of them dress alike, and they just have a great time. It’s just a fun time, a good thing for the whole family to do together.”

At Valley West Mall, 20 of the mall’s 120 stores will be opening at midnight, the remainder by 4 a.m., when $5,000 in Black Friday prize giveaways and other discounts will be offered.

Trisha Barton, the mall’s marketing manager, said between 2 and 3 million people will come through the mall’s doors between now and Christmas Eve.

The importance of the holiday season to merchants can’t be understated.

“This time of year can either make or break a business,” Barton said. “If you’ve been going along with some good sales figures, you can make your whole year and you can sustain a whole year of possible up-and-down sales.”

Barton said retailers are anticipating steady sales, but perhaps not as many big-ticket items as in years past. Televisions and other pricey items are already on sale at big-box stores, which tells Barton those items aren’t moving as well as in years past.

Still, Barton said, “I think we’re very fortunate in Iowa.”

“People here are down to Earth,” she said. “We save our money and pay our bills. We haven’t bought things we can’t pay for.”

She said consumers seem to have a positive attitude about the holiday and are in the mood to buy. “We may not see significant increases in spending over last year, but they’re out and have good attitudes,” she said. “The economy has stabilized in Iowa. If businesses were on the verge, they’ve closed; if they are over the hump, they’re looking for a brighter future.”

Jones, Barton’s counterpart at Jordan Creek Town Center, also thinks retailers will do well this holiday shopping season. She thinks stores that carry hot ticket items, like Apple’s iPad, will do well.

“I think people are going to buy whatever they want,” she said. “If there’s something somebody in their family wants, they’ll buy it.”

Clothing is "always big,” she said, and the mall’s kiosks offer “fun items that make great stocking stuffers.”

Jordan Creek’s Rockin’ Shoppin’ Eve early-bird event ends at 5 a.m. Throughout the five-hour event, stores will offer deep discounts that won’t be disclosed until the crowd begins lining up at the door.

Valley West’s sales start at 4 a.m. with $5,000 in prize giveways.

Both malls have events that benefit charity. Valley West’s gift wrap booth opens Dec. 1, manned by volunteers with the Children’s Cancer Connection, formerly the Heart Connection, which offers camping experiences to children with cancer at facilities near Boone.

Because the mall management donates the gift boxes and wrapping supplies and the booths are staffed by volunteers, 100 percent of the proceeds go to the Children’s Cancer Connection, Barton said.

Jordan Creek’s breakfast events with Santa, one on Dec. 3, the other on Dec. 10, will benefit Children’s and Family Services of Iowa and the Mercy Children’s Center. Reservations are required for both events.

Both malls have a full schedule holiday activities on their Web sites.