(January 4, 2005) — Gift cards and last-minute shoppers gave a bit of a boost to what area retailers described as an otherwise lackluster season.

Meanwhile, national retailers such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, which had been predicting a soft season, reported better-than-expected results.

"It was decent, but not spectacular," said Mike Wilmot, manager of The Marketplace mall and Pittsford Plaza.

At The Marketplace, sales were up 4 percent over last year.

"We were hoping for 5 to 6 percent," Wilmot said.

Sales at Pittsford Plaza were up 5 to 6 percent.

Retailers said sales started off strong Thanksgiving weekend, but then tapered off.

A rush of shoppers filled stores the week before Christmas, returning right after the holiday to cash in their gift cards, he said.

"A lot of people came in to do their returns and to take advantage of the sales," said Jim Hofford, manager of the Mall at Greece Ridge Center, where sales were up 3 to 4 percent, in line with expectations.

Sales at Premier Sports Center — a team apparel store at Greece Ridge Center — were up 4 to 5 percent over last year, said owner Patrick Guliano, helped by a strong legion of Boston Red Sox fans.

"Those people hadn't had anything to buy for 80 years," Guliano said, and came in to get merchandise now that their team has won the World Series.

Target in Greece met its expectations, said manager Harvey McCorvey. "In the end, it was the gift cards that pushed us over."

Eastview Mall finished the season with a 6 to 7 percent increase in sales, said mall manager Mike Kauffman, who described the season as "encouraging." Earlier in the season, Kauffman had expected a 6 to 8 percent increase.

Nationally, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it expects its December sales to have risen 3 percent at stores open at least a year, a figure that is at the top end of the company's sales estimate.

Meanwhile, Kmart Holding Corp. said Monday that it had strong profitability in November and December.

Kmart expects net income, excluding any asset sales and bankruptcy-related expenses, to be about $250 million for the period. The company said that would be an increase of about 10 percent from the same period in 2003.

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Includes reporting by The Associated Press.