A burst of chilling temperatures during the weekend helped put North Texas shoppers in the holiday spirit.

TIM GRUBER/DMN

Dawn Bower looked at a store directory Sunday at Galleria Dallas, where shoppers took advantage of sales during the last weekend before Christmas.

In Dallas, major malls were busy Saturday and Sunday. But the biggest crowds didn't show up till around 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. both days, said Angie Freed, spokeswoman for Galleria Dallas.

"Today, I see 95 percent of the people here with bags in their hands. It wasn't like that earlier in the season," Ms. Freed said Sunday.

JENN ACKERMAN/DMN

Cold temperatures didn't keep shoppers from packing Galleria Dallas over the weekend.

The weekend's shoppers were generally on a mission: It was the last weekend before Christmas, which is Thursday, and the start of Hanukkah last night.

At NorthPark Center in Dallas, cars exiting Central Expressway Sunday afternoon formed a long, crawling line. Shoppers parked on the grass in the mall's lot Saturday, and others parked offsite and walked.

"Even valet parking was full at NorthPark," said Holly Puig of Dallas.

Department stores and mall retailers everywhere had expectations that the weekend would measure up to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. But on average, the numbers of shoppers weren't as high, said Cheryl Bridges, director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University. "It just wasn't the mob scene of Black Friday."

Since Thanksgiving, shoppers have been treated to unprecedented discounts.

"The discounting became the norm this season and may not drive the same traffic" in the final days, Ms. Bridges said.

Shoppers said they thought stores were doing a better job of taking care of customers.

"I think it's more about customer service this year. It's making me a little more loyal," said Jasmine Rogers of Dallas. "You don't want to see your favorite store go out of business."

Sunday at Cost Plus World Market on Alpha Road, Ms. Rogers bought sets of mugs that were marked down. "I wouldn't have bought them if they weren't on sale," she said.

In recent years, the Saturday before Christmas has been the second-busiest day for the U.S. retail industry, behind the day after Thanksgiving, according to ShopperTrak. In each of the last two years, that final Saturday drew $8.7 billion in general merchandise sales, 4.4 percent of the two-month season.

On Friday, Toys R Us said the final stretch to Christmas would produce multiple days of $100 million in sales for the chain. Toys R Us generates more than 40 percent of sales and the bulk of its annual profits in the fourth quarter.

This year, the Friday and Saturday after Christmas are also forecast to be among the season's strongest days.

Scott Milford of Addison said he plans to shop then. "I've been surprised at low prices on team jerseys and consumer electronics this year," he said after shopping at the Wal-Mart Supercenter north of Belt Line Road. "I only sometimes shop after-Christmas sales, but this year I will."

Not all parking lots were full during the weekend. Valley View Center, near the Galleria, lost two anchor stores, Dillard's this month and Macy's last spring.

The arrival of cold weather Saturday afternoon thinned the ranks of shoppers at big outdoor shopping centers, including Southlake Town Square and Garland's Firewheel Town Center.

In Plano at the Shops at Willow Bend on Saturday, the mall's parking lot "was close to capacity throughout the afternoon and early evening, but sales were trending flat to slightly down for the day on average," said Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman for Taubman Centers Inc., which owns 24 U.S. shopping centers including Willow Bend.

On Tuesday, the International Council of Shopping Centers will report sales results for last week.

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