Last-minute Christmas shoppers flood stores as online deadlines loom

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — With only a few days left until Christmas, the deadlines for online shopping have passed. Shoppers are turning to personal last-minute gift shopping to check everything off their lists.

“So this weekend is the busiest weekend. I call it crunch time and we’ve now gone into panic buying mode, so the lines this morning, even for a Sunday, were just outrageous. It was like a smaller version of Black Friday,” Jessica Keefer, Cabela’s assistant general manager, said.

According to the National Retail Federation, per person, consumers are expected to spend $900 on holiday shopping this year. That’s an increase of about $25 per person from last year.

“People want that feeling, that rush you get when you’re waiting for that last minute shopping, and we certainly saw that this weekend,” Keefer said.

Consumers said last-minute gift shopping can be stressful, but sometimes it’s the only way to fit it into your schedule.

“We haven’t had time the last few weeks,” said shopper Caleb White. “It’s the only day we have this week so we’re trying to take advantage of what we can.”

Caleb and Gage White said they are out shopping for their parents today and they made sure to get an early start.

“It’s not too bad so far. Trying to catch the head of the crowd before it gets really, really bad and just jump ahead of all the business that way we’re not stuck in all the traffic and all the crap that goes on in this. weekend,” White said.

To stretch their budget and avoid crowds, 45% of holiday shoppers were reported to buy their gifts before November, according to the National Retail Federation. Meanwhile, 62% expected to complete their shopping by December.