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CNN Live Today
Savvy Shopping
Aired November 29, 2002 - 10:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the turkey has been reduced to leftovers by now, and as your shopping list grows, the number of shopping days is already dwindling. So, how do you make the most out of your time and money?
That's what shoppers across the country want to know, and for that, we're going to go to Skokie Illinois, and it's a monstrous mall with a monstrous name, Westfield Shopping Town Old Orchard.
Our shopping guru, CNN's Jeff Flock, is among the masses.
Jeff -- how you doing?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good, Carol. You got the name right. That's a mouthful.
But you know, I've got somebody from Westfield Shopping Town. We were talking earlier about, how do we do this more intelligently? Deborah, when I come to the mall, it's like I'm looking at everything, and I'm looking in the windows...
DEBORAH FLATTERY, REGIONAL MARKETING DIR., WESTFIELD CORP.: Deer in the headlights, hey?
FLOCK: Exactly. How do you not do that? How can I be more focused?
FLATTERY: Well, you know, the first thing they always tell you is to make a list. But if you're a list-maker to begin with, you'd be one of those people sitting home today having done your Christmas shopping since Halloween.
FLOCK: I wouldn't even be shopping, right, exactly. So -- OK, so it's too late for that. But what -- I mean, I come up to a store. I look in the window. How do I better focus on what to get and how to do it?
FLATTERY: Well, there's a simple thing about gifting that will help with the selection or open up to selection and that is, traditionally when you're making that list or trying to figure out what to buy, you're saying, what does he need, what does he really want, when instead, a gift is something that I want you to have from me. What do I want to share with you? And suddenly, it opens up the possibilities a great deal.
FLOCK: So, I'm great. So, in terms of lists, I may not even have a list, because I don't even know. FLATTERY: No, no...
FLOCK: So, I'm coming to look. I'm looking in the window, and I'm sort of stumbling through. Is there a way to do that more intelligently, to say, hey, you know, I need to come here to get this? What do I do?
FLATTERY: Well, what happens is, you also don't need 20 stores to buy 20 gifts. What you need to do, what I do, is I get onto the Internet. Every mall, every shopping town across the country has a directory. You're going to go onto that directory. You're going to find maybe three or four stores that you really like, and I guarantee you, you're going to find what you need in those stores without panicking.
But I have to remind you, though, we're short this year, 17 days until Christmas.
FLOCK: That's right, make that point, yes, exactly.
FLATTERY: We're missing that week. So...
FLOCK: So, we just sort of lost a week of shopping...
FLATTERY: Yes.
FLOCK: ... which is not going to become apparent until the end when I run out, yes.
FLATTERY: Oh, yes. But it's important, even -- I mean, we're here at Brookstone, and as you can see there are many things to pick out. But as you notice, we're shopping very early right now. The crowds are down. You can take your time. There are a lot of sales associates. These people that work in these stores are your best line of defense.
FLOCK: Really?
FLATTERY: They know their products. They know every price point, because that's another issue.
FLOCK: Well, and the other thing is, we come to a store like this. Generally, you come to a place like this, because you want something cool and neat that nobody -- I don't even know what these things are. Here's a man who knows. I mean...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a massaging foot warmer.
FLOCK: This is a massaging foot warmer.
FLATTERY: Now, I know...
FLOCK: Are these good gifts for people? I mean...
FLATTERY: Well, it all depends.
FLOCK: ... I wouldn't think of -- I wouldn't have set out to, you know, I've got to go get that massaging foot warmer.
FLATTERY: I know. Well, I can tell you, maybe not for your wife. I think a blue box at all times from Tiffany's...
(CROSSTALK)
FLOCK: I like that.
FLATTERY: But I think, you know, if...
FLOCK: That's really interesting.
FLATTERY: What happens is outdoors people, there's people that work a great deal that are on their feet all the time, and this is perfect for them. And what happens is, you know, it's not what anybody thinks that they want, but you open it up, and you say, my goodness, this is kind of fun.
FLOCK: Right.
FLATTERY: You know, and it is kind of a warm, intimate kind of present, but...
FLOCK: Just in terms of actual nuts and bolts of how to do this, I tend to -- you know, I'll go and I'll find something and maybe it's the -- you know, I found the massaging C topper (ph). Now, I've got this. OK, now let's go for the rest of the stuff. You know, now I've got this.
FLATTERY: You know, this doesn't make any -- I can tell that you're not a shopper, because no one shops from heavy to light.
FLOCK: OK.
FLATTERY: The No. 1 thing you want to think about is start with the small things, because you're going to be carrying them around with you all day. And then graduate to the large things. I mean, it's just -- you know, there's also the convenience of -- you know, there are things that are automatically easy and everyone loves them -- you know, movie passes.
FLOCK: Right.
FLATTERY: The movie business is doing great. All of the blockbusters are coming out. I mean -- but again, there's concierges, there's personal shoppers, there's a sales associate...
FLOCK: Get help is what you're saying.
FLATTERY: Well, especially when it's not too busy. Now, if you're going to come in on a Saturday at 3:00, they're not going to give you the best attention that they should. But I guarantee you -- and you know what? If you find a quality product or a product that works for you here, chances are you'll find the others here. You already know that you trust it and you buy it.
FLOCK: Good deal. I appreciate the tips. Thank you so much.
FLATTERY: Thank you.
FLOCK: Deborah Flattery, appreciate all that smart talk.
I hope to take that heart, Carol, and perhaps do things better this year.
Back to you.
LIN: All right, thanks, Jeff. Hey, you're going to be with us next hour. What are you going to be doing then?
FLOCK: You know what? I'm going to stay in this Brookstone. Take a look at this here. Look at this guy here. Jeffrey, go ahead (UNINTELLIGIBLE) looks freakier out there. There's this little thing. You don't even have to run the sweeper anymore. Maybe you can, you know, get something cool that can make your life simpler.
LIN: I love it.
FLOCK: That's a good gift for a wife, wouldn't it? Oh, oh!
LIN: Or a husband.
FLOCK: Exactly.
LIN: Yes, honey, you do the work today.
FLOCK: I could (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
LIN: That's great. All right, Jeff, we'll be looking forward to those high-tech gadgets in the next hour.
FLOCK: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 29, 2002 - 10:13 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the turkey has been reduced to leftovers by now, and as your shopping list grows, the number of shopping days is already dwindling. So, how do you make the most out of your time and money?
That's what shoppers across the country want to know, and for that, we're going to go to Skokie Illinois, and it's a monstrous mall with a monstrous name, Westfield Shopping Town Old Orchard.
Our shopping guru, CNN's Jeff Flock, is among the masses.
Jeff -- how you doing?
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good, Carol. You got the name right. That's a mouthful.
But you know, I've got somebody from Westfield Shopping Town. We were talking earlier about, how do we do this more intelligently? Deborah, when I come to the mall, it's like I'm looking at everything, and I'm looking in the windows...
DEBORAH FLATTERY, REGIONAL MARKETING DIR., WESTFIELD CORP.: Deer in the headlights, hey?
FLOCK: Exactly. How do you not do that? How can I be more focused?
FLATTERY: Well, you know, the first thing they always tell you is to make a list. But if you're a list-maker to begin with, you'd be one of those people sitting home today having done your Christmas shopping since Halloween.
FLOCK: I wouldn't even be shopping, right, exactly. So -- OK, so it's too late for that. But what -- I mean, I come up to a store. I look in the window. How do I better focus on what to get and how to do it?
FLATTERY: Well, there's a simple thing about gifting that will help with the selection or open up to selection and that is, traditionally when you're making that list or trying to figure out what to buy, you're saying, what does he need, what does he really want, when instead, a gift is something that I want you to have from me. What do I want to share with you? And suddenly, it opens up the possibilities a great deal.
FLOCK: So, I'm great. So, in terms of lists, I may not even have a list, because I don't even know. FLATTERY: No, no...
FLOCK: So, I'm coming to look. I'm looking in the window, and I'm sort of stumbling through. Is there a way to do that more intelligently, to say, hey, you know, I need to come here to get this? What do I do?
FLATTERY: Well, what happens is, you also don't need 20 stores to buy 20 gifts. What you need to do, what I do, is I get onto the Internet. Every mall, every shopping town across the country has a directory. You're going to go onto that directory. You're going to find maybe three or four stores that you really like, and I guarantee you, you're going to find what you need in those stores without panicking.
But I have to remind you, though, we're short this year, 17 days until Christmas.
FLOCK: That's right, make that point, yes, exactly.
FLATTERY: We're missing that week. So...
FLOCK: So, we just sort of lost a week of shopping...
FLATTERY: Yes.
FLOCK: ... which is not going to become apparent until the end when I run out, yes.
FLATTERY: Oh, yes. But it's important, even -- I mean, we're here at Brookstone, and as you can see there are many things to pick out. But as you notice, we're shopping very early right now. The crowds are down. You can take your time. There are a lot of sales associates. These people that work in these stores are your best line of defense.
FLOCK: Really?
FLATTERY: They know their products. They know every price point, because that's another issue.
FLOCK: Well, and the other thing is, we come to a store like this. Generally, you come to a place like this, because you want something cool and neat that nobody -- I don't even know what these things are. Here's a man who knows. I mean...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a massaging foot warmer.
FLOCK: This is a massaging foot warmer.
FLATTERY: Now, I know...
FLOCK: Are these good gifts for people? I mean...
FLATTERY: Well, it all depends.
FLOCK: ... I wouldn't think of -- I wouldn't have set out to, you know, I've got to go get that massaging foot warmer.
FLATTERY: I know. Well, I can tell you, maybe not for your wife. I think a blue box at all times from Tiffany's...
(CROSSTALK)
FLOCK: I like that.
FLATTERY: But I think, you know, if...
FLOCK: That's really interesting.
FLATTERY: What happens is outdoors people, there's people that work a great deal that are on their feet all the time, and this is perfect for them. And what happens is, you know, it's not what anybody thinks that they want, but you open it up, and you say, my goodness, this is kind of fun.
FLOCK: Right.
FLATTERY: You know, and it is kind of a warm, intimate kind of present, but...
FLOCK: Just in terms of actual nuts and bolts of how to do this, I tend to -- you know, I'll go and I'll find something and maybe it's the -- you know, I found the massaging C topper (ph). Now, I've got this. OK, now let's go for the rest of the stuff. You know, now I've got this.
FLATTERY: You know, this doesn't make any -- I can tell that you're not a shopper, because no one shops from heavy to light.
FLOCK: OK.
FLATTERY: The No. 1 thing you want to think about is start with the small things, because you're going to be carrying them around with you all day. And then graduate to the large things. I mean, it's just -- you know, there's also the convenience of -- you know, there are things that are automatically easy and everyone loves them -- you know, movie passes.
FLOCK: Right.
FLATTERY: The movie business is doing great. All of the blockbusters are coming out. I mean -- but again, there's concierges, there's personal shoppers, there's a sales associate...
FLOCK: Get help is what you're saying.
FLATTERY: Well, especially when it's not too busy. Now, if you're going to come in on a Saturday at 3:00, they're not going to give you the best attention that they should. But I guarantee you -- and you know what? If you find a quality product or a product that works for you here, chances are you'll find the others here. You already know that you trust it and you buy it.
FLOCK: Good deal. I appreciate the tips. Thank you so much.
FLATTERY: Thank you.
FLOCK: Deborah Flattery, appreciate all that smart talk.
I hope to take that heart, Carol, and perhaps do things better this year.
Back to you.
LIN: All right, thanks, Jeff. Hey, you're going to be with us next hour. What are you going to be doing then?
FLOCK: You know what? I'm going to stay in this Brookstone. Take a look at this here. Look at this guy here. Jeffrey, go ahead (UNINTELLIGIBLE) looks freakier out there. There's this little thing. You don't even have to run the sweeper anymore. Maybe you can, you know, get something cool that can make your life simpler.
LIN: I love it.
FLOCK: That's a good gift for a wife, wouldn't it? Oh, oh!
LIN: Or a husband.
FLOCK: Exactly.
LIN: Yes, honey, you do the work today.
FLOCK: I could (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
LIN: That's great. All right, Jeff, we'll be looking forward to those high-tech gadgets in the next hour.
FLOCK: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
