If Black Friday had a sequel

Wearing a headset and gesticulating wildly, Bath & Body Works employee Vanessa Ford, directed a steady barrage of day-after-Christmas shoppers through busy aisles of the store at South Coast Plaza on Friday afternoon.

She directed customers loaded down with shopping bags toward the register, and pointed out deals to throngs of customers.

“Three dollars for body creme,” she shouted Friday, waving her arms over a flock of women scavenging through giant bins of lotion in the South Coast Plaza store.

“This is the busiest I’ve seen it since I started working here,” Ford said, as customers elbowed their way toward the cash register.

Despite dismal preliminary reports of retail sales this holiday season, local retailers reported brisk business Friday from shoppers exchanging items and cashing in gift cards.

Local retailers also tried to cure a holiday hangover from sluggish retail sales this year with day-after-Christmas deals. Giant posters screaming out deals of 50%, 60% and 70% decked the halls of South Coast Plaza. Friday.

Shopper Deerick Smith, of Batesville, Ark., who was in town to visit family, sat on a bench at South Coast Plaza Friday surrounded by shopping bags.

“I spent less money on Christmas because I don’t really have any to spend, but there’s a lot of better deals here today,” he said.

The entire stock of the trendy women’s boutique MNG by Mango was on sale for 50% off Friday at South Coast Plaza.

The line at the cash register wound all the way to the back wall of the store, as shoppers foraged through sales racks.

“People are looking for sales,” said MNG by Mango employee Annel Rivas, who was busy organizing racks of blouses and dresses in the store Friday. “People are buying less because they have less money, but they will come in if there are sales.”

Nationally, retail sales were expected to be dismal this holiday season, although firm numbers for the shopping season won’t be released until next month. Preliminary data show retail sales down between 5.5% to 8% compared to last year during the holiday shopping season, according to data from SpendingPulse, which tracks buying with credit cards, cash or checks nationally. Sales of luxury items, such as jewelry, were down 34.5% nationally, according to SpendingPulse.

Retailers at Fashion Island reported packed parking lots and busy cash registers the day after Christmas.

“It went very well — we’re optimistic,” said Laura Davis, senior director of marketing for Fashion Island. “It’s a mixture of customers coming for after-holiday sales, and taking advantage of gift cards they receive.”

Many customers who came in to Traditional Jewelers at Fashion Island on Friday were to “upgrade exchange,” where they come in to exchange a gift for a higher-priced item, said sales manager Shawna Brewer.

“We’re really happy about the business and the traffic in the mall today — spirits are good,” she said. “In the luxury business you never know which way it’s going to go, but we’ve gotten a very positive response.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.