Last-Minute Shoppers Crowd Area Malls Boosting Holiday Sales
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Right now, the holiday hustle is in full swing. Last-minute shoppers are up against the clock trying to get ready for Christmas.
Weijia Jiang talked to some of those shoppers who wait it out.
Arms full of bags, on a mission to get even more. For last-minute shoppers, the race is on.
The Richardsons-- scrambling to pick up gifts for their sons in White Marsh-- say they scored big.
"We checked it off, everything, we got everything," Lisa Richardson said.
"Two days before Christmas, you don't expect to catch these great deals and everything you're looking for," Marlon Richardson said.
Retailers are rushing too, trying to meet their own holiday goals. To bring in the green, red-hot sales boast up to 80 percent off. It seems to be working.
"Today is one of the busiest days we've seen so far, and I think for the next two days all those procrastinators are getting out here with purchases," Jessica Benson, who works at the White Marsh Mall, said.
Of course, last-minute shopping can be stressful, and when you need advice, you go to the top.
Jiang: Santa, what's your advice?
Santa Claus: Make a list, check it twice! Merry Christmas!
But even some who followed Santa's advice had to make one last trip.
"No choice, I started early, I started back in October but one or two people didn't know what to get so here I am," shopper Lisa Meadows said.
"I tried to get little things here and there but I knew this time was coming, it was gonna be that last minute crunch," Ryan Horan said.
And it all adds up. The National Retail Federation predicts a 3.8 percent rise in sales this holiday shopping season, adding up to a record $469 billion.
