Although today's mid-morning snow shower made travel conditions slick, Ann Arbor area shoppers who braved the roads found themselves in bargain heaven.

An unscientific survey showed crowds were smaller than expected - and the deals were plentiful.

At Briarwood Mall, which opened at 7 a.m., the recent trend of gift recipients delaying returns and exchanges was especially noticeable, according to general manager Ida Hendrix.

Nevertheless, she still counted plenty of people who were taking advantage of gift cards and store sales. And after a somewhat slow morning, Briarwood was packed with shoppers by 3 p.m.

“I would say we started seeing the masses at 9:30-ish,” Hendrix said. “People are definitely out for after-Christmas sales.”

Cynthia and Charlene Donahey included themselves in that category.

The sisters emerged from the mall right around noon with some hard-won trophies, including Cynthia’s purple clogs from Von Maur. They nicely matched a purple jacket she wore.

Charlene Donahey divulged her own predilection for polka dots, happily showing off some items she found.

Although the Donahey sisters were raised in Ann Arbor, and Charlene still lives here, Cynthia has lived in Harbor Springs for more than 20 years.

The Donaheys came out early while the mall remained relatively serene. Charlene said that was changing fast.

“The teenyboppers are coming out (now), because they’re waking up.”

Nicole Deja of Ann Arbor, Sarah Nowlan of Fowlerville, and Emily Hurst of Alexandria, Va., comprised another group of bargain-hunters. The three had already been to Target and found a smaller crowd than expected.

Deja said she saw “50 percent off on tons of stuff,” and stocked up on Christmas decorating items.

The stretch of road between Oak Valley Center and Briarwood was “terrible,” because of the weather, they agreed.

In their searches at Briarwood, Hurst - a frequent patron of Banana Republic’s Web site -showed off jeans and a merino sweater she acquired for an out-of-pocket cost of $1.04. Coupons from the online purchases covered the rest.

Hurst revealed her normal shopping tactic, saying, “I hold onto everything until I get to the register.” Then she does a last-moment assessment of actual needs.

A bag with a $7 T-shirt form the Gap dangled from Deja’s fingers, but Nowlan remained unencumbered.

“I just came to hang out,” she said.

Ronald Ahrens is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.