INDIANAPOLIS -- The holiday shopping frenzy let up for a day for the observance of Christmas, but central Indiana retailers were pleased to see big crowds on the day after Christmas.

Holiday shopping totals are expected to be about the same as last year -- up a bit in some areas and perhaps down some in others -- but if crowds at popular shopping havens were any indication, many retailers were doing quite well on Saturday.

Retailers are locked in a fierce battle to attract the money consumers are willing to part with before the end of the year. For some, the holiday season's outcome could make or break them.

The crowd at Castleton Square Mall resembled that of the day after Thanksgiving, when people in search of deals clog stores for Black Friday.

"At Dick's, we got 50 percent off of most of what we purchased," said shopper Todd Lahymen.

Stores are luring shoppers in a variety of ways. Some are offering deeper discounts -- some on items that aren't usually on sale -- while others are just keeping the doors open longer each day.

"A lot of the stores have jeans where you buy one, you get one half off, and they have sweaters like 70 percent off," said shopper Minyon McClinton.

Final holiday sales figures won't be out until January, but most experts predict a flat year or a modest gain, compared to last year's 6 percent drop.

Consumers began using all those gift cards they got for Christmas. Retailers count on those to boost sales the final week of 2009 and provide a jumpstart to the start of 2010.

Gift card sales were down 9 percent last year, and they are expected to be down about 4 percent this year.

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