North Texas shoppers flock to malls on Super Saturday for last-minute gifts
NORTH TEXAS – Malls and retailers across the region are busy this weekend as shoppers race to find last-minute gifts.
"Madness," said Crystal Hines, who was out shopping in Fort Worth. "The traffic is insane."
The last Saturday before Christmas is known as Super Saturday, one of the final opportunities during the holiday season for people to get all remaining items on their lists.
"I think it's nice, seeing everybody out and about," said Cheryl Zuniga, who knew she'd have to brave the crowds at Tanger Outlets in Fort Worth to get her shopping done this year. "It seems like everyone does more online shopping now, so it's good seeing people spending local."
Zuniga flew in from out of town to visit family in Dallas-Fort Worth.
"So I didn't want to bring it all on the plane," Zuniga said. "So yeah, putting it off."
She was in good company with other last-minute shoppers.
The National Retail Federation expects 157.2 million people to shop either in person or online on Super Saturday, roughly half of the U.S. population.
"It's not as busy as I thought it would be," said Kendrea Barnes, who was at Tanger Outlets to find gifts for her daughter. "I thought it was going to be a lot more crowded than this."
This year, 44% of consumers plan to shop both in-store and online, according to the NRF. Twenty-four percent plan to shop online only.
"I think a lot of people do Amazon or the local Walmart, but I think the mall crowds are bigger than they usually are so that's kind of neat," said Nicholas Zuniga.
The Tanger Outlets extended their hours this weekend to accommodate last-minute shoppers. The shopping center will be open every day through Christmas Eve. However, on Christmas Day, the outlets will be closed, along with many other stores and shopping centers across North Texas.