HARPER WOODS -- Kiara Wilson could have slept in.

The 16-year-old Detroiter arose extra early Tuesday so she could get a good parking spot to hit the 8 a.m. day-after-Christmas sales at Eastland Center.

The only thing missing was the crowd.

After sluggish pre-holiday sales, the long lines of early-morning bargain hunters that typically crowd malls and stores didn't materialize at Eastland and several other Metro Detroit shopping centers.

"I made it my business to get here early because I expected a lot of people to be here," Wilson said.

While some centers reported a busy morning Tuesday, others were still waiting for customers to arrive at 11 a.m. Retailers and analysts blamed the slow morning on factors ranging from changing shopping habits and a weak economy to an unseasonably warm winter and late-night holiday celebrations.

The day started out slow at Eastland, where a handful of people were checking out post-Christmas sales or power walking in the corridors at 10:30 a.m. The light morning came as a surprise to customers, merchants and management.

Officials opened the mall's doors early and called in extra security and customer service personnel to help out with a crush of customers who stayed home.

"I think people were just tired this year," said Pam Lightbody, Eastland's marketing manager.

Last year, a flood of early-morning customers filled the mall on the day after Christmas to redeem gift cards and make returns or exchanges, she said. "You couldn't move in this mall the day after Christmas."

Merchants sold many gift cards this year, too, but recipients may be holding on to them until later in the week. Another factor to consider is that when people get gift cards instead of items they don't want, there are fewer returns and exchanges on the day after Christmas, Lightbody added.

Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn also increased staffing and opened earlier than usual, although shoppers didn't really start coming in until about 10:30 a.m. Fewer customers were returning goods, but they started trickling in for the sales.

"Things are going very well," marketing manager Darla Bowen reported. "We're on track with last year."

Farmington Hills retail analyst Kenneth J. Dalto expected the day after Christmas to be sluggish. Tuesday was a reflection of the rest of the holiday shopping season in Michigan, he said.

"The season wasn't great," Dalto said. "A lot less items were sold."

For that reason, Dalto said, retailers will offer deep discounts throughout the week and into next month to get stock out the door before spring. Department stores and discounters will be especially pushing to unload outdoor winter gear -- hats, gloves and coats -- that didn't sell because of warm temperatures.

"Retailers can't afford to have one- or two-day sales," he said.

Michigan's troubled economy is adding to retailers' woes. Although holiday spending figures won't be available until January, Dalto said the amount of money spent per person for the holidays in general is down.

Not everybody is having slower day-after-Christmas sales. Traffic control was in full force at Somerset Collection in Troy since the mall opened at 10 a.m.

"It's a busy day," spokesman Ed Nakfoor said. "The merchants are happy."

Sales and crowds at malls owned by Taubman Centers Inc. were also on par with last year. The firm has 23 malls, including Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills and Fairlane Town Center.

The parking lots were 90 percent full by 1 p.m., the company said. Seventy percent to 80 percent of customers were buying items; 10 percent to 20 percent were exchanging something they received; and 10 percent were returning things.

Said spokeswoman Karen MacDonald, "We feel pretty good about the season."

You can reach Jennifer Youssef at (313) 222-2319 or jyoussef@detnews.com.