CHRISTMAS Are mall Santas entering decline?

Some data show a drop in photo purchases and lap-sitting.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Santa isn't the big man at Christmas that he used to be, at least not at the mall.
Although appearances by St. Nick remain a holiday ritual at most of the nation's 1,130 enclosed shopping centers, there are bearish signs for mall-based Santas, according to a review of five years of "holiday fun facts" from the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Evidence of Santa fatigue:
The number of Santa photos sold per mall in 2002 was 4,683. Those are 54 percent fewer Kodak moments than the 10,250 photos snapped per mall in 2000, the only other year for which figures are available.
The average number of children sitting on Santa's lap per mall in 2002 was 8,758. That's down 13 percent from the five-year high of 10,119 in 2001.
The average mall, like many businesses, got leaner and meaner in 2002, using one full-time Santa and one part-time Father Christmas. That compares with one full-timer and two part-timers in 2001. The recent peak of Santa staffing was in 1998, when the average mall had 1.2 full-time Santas and 2.8 part-timers.
Debi Farquhar of Frankfort, Ill., was lining up with her two daughters for a photo with Santa at Orland Square Mall on Tuesday. In the past two years, she has noticed fewer Santas frequenting malls. "Maybe that's why the lines [to visit Santa] are getting longer," said Farquhar, who stood in line about 35 minutes.
Opposing factors
Trends striking a blow against Santa as a fulcrum of Christmas marketing at malls include: increasingly jaded children; belt-tightening by malls and consumers; and the fact that Santas today regularly land gigs at such mall alternatives as free-standing discount stores and even pet shops.
"Malls may be looking to be more efficient in their use of Santa," council spokeswoman Patrice Duker said. The council, which represents shopping center owners, developers and managers, surveys about 230 members a year on their holiday practices.
The drop in Santa photo orders suggests parents are taking the do-it-yourself approach and snubbing the officially sanctioned Santa shutterbugs.
"People are more tech-savvy and are more free to bring in their digital cameras," Duker said.
Other families still want Santa time but pass on the photo as a way to save money in a tough economy, she said.
Regional decline
At least one procurer of Santas to the U.S. mall industry concurs.
Noerr Program, a Golden, Colo.-based provider of Santas to 200 malls nationally, said business is up nationally but not in such heartland markets as Illinois, where revenues are down by 5 percent to 7 percent.
"The Midwest economy in general is still hit," said Michael Collins, Noerr's Chicagoland manager. "What we're seeing at the mall is cautious shopping," translating into fewer photo packages being sold.
However, Los Angeles psychologist and media commentator Robert Butterworth sees a more intractable problem for Santa than the economy's fluctuating fortunes.
"With the Internet, kids are more sophisticated at figuring things out at an earlier age," Butterworth said.
Others insist that Santa hasn't been marginalized.
"All the malls we handle are still dealing with Santa, and the lines appear to be just as long," said Vic Dodier, whose namesake Tucson, Ariz., company provides marketing and creative services to shopping centers. "We continue to see them promoting Santa aggressively in radio and print ads and in mall collateral signage."