If the person is in Shadowed Curios, you can hunt around for them without using energy by browsing the shelves and then clicking finish shopping, as long as you don't leave Shadowed Curios, you can continue to cycle this until you find the person that satisfies Cici's craving.
At the mall, going to the casino and leaving rerolls the encounter chances for the clothing store, food court, cinnamon swirlies, and wander options without using energy. Just make sure to hit the undo button if you don't encounter the right person in these other four locations as leaving them normally will use energy.