Prices are not the only thing retailers are competing with big-box stores on this holiday season; it’s hours, too.

Jordan Creek Town Center is increasing its hours from Thanksgiving to Christmas by more than 60 compared with the same period last year and intends to be open longer on Fridays and Saturdays in the future.

Although the times the shopping center is open will not be consistent from week to week in November and December, the changes will affect both morning and evening hours. In 2007, the mall will be open an extra hour on Friday evenings and on Saturdays will open two hours earlier and close an hour later.

Fueling this dramatic increase is the desire to be open when big-box retailers and department stores are open as well as the success big-box retailers have had by extending hours.

“What we really hope is to provide the convenience that the shopper is looking for that gives the retailers the opportunity to make additional sales,” said John Bucksbaum, CEO of General Growth Properties Inc., which manages Jordan Creek. “Looking at volumes of business that have been done by big-box retailers who now have a history of opening early, their history has been so positive that we’re hoping to see that transfer over to our retailers as well.”

Jordan Creek is one of 200 General Growth shopping centers nationwide that are extending their operating hours. This decision is based on customer surveys the company has conducted over the past two years, which found that 66 percent of respondents already took advantage of extended holiday hours at other retailers.

“Our top priority is making sure we are open when our customer wants us to be,” said Randy Tennison, senior general manager of Jordan Creek. “We feel that being open additional hours will drive traffic and sales. We believe it will be beneficial for all of the stores out here. One of our goals is to make sure we are communicating a consistent message to consumers. When we say the mall is open, the entire mall is open.”

Yet the mall’s retailers have had a mixed reaction to the news, Tennison said.

Kathy Dunbar, owner of Blue Willi’s by Kathy, said she was surprised when she received news of the change in a letter, and at a mall meeting, one store owner was vocally upset.

“I believe that it is the wave of the future that hasn’t hit Des Moines yet,” Dunbar said. “It’s happening in major cities. General Growth wants to be on top of it. As an employer it’s tough to handle the extra hours.” But as a shopper, she said she appreciates the change.

Bill Johnson, co-owner of Vivo by Abante, said: “I feel confident that they just didn’t do it arbitrarily. I would believe that they have a marketing plan and it is going to benefit all of us.”

The biggest challenge is finding the additional workers needed to staff the store during the extended hours, because so many retailers have opened in and around the shopping center this year, Tennison said. Johnson has been able to fill his mall store’s temporary positions, but he said that it has taken longer than in the past.

“I don’t expect every store to be successful at this,” Bucksbaum said. “But there will be surprises, people who figure out how to take advantage of this and make it work for them. Others may choose not to make an effort, and for them, it probably will be more difficult.”

Other Greater Des Moines malls are making minor operating-hour increases if any this year. Valley West Mall General Manager Paul Stender said the mall is extending its hours a little on major shopping days, based on what its department stores are doing. Merle Hay Mall’s hours are about the same as last year.

Although there haven’t been major changes at other retailers yet, that doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Tennison said, “if the industry as a whole makes change similar to this in the near future.”