Holiday Shoppers Surge into Stores Seeking Last Minute Savings
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Tim Boyle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — With the clock dwindling down to the biggest gift-giving day of the year, shoppers are in a frenzy this week to buy presents in time for Christmas.
Bill Martin, co-founder of retail research firm ShopperTrak, says the hysteria has picked up again following the initial surge around Black Friday weekend.
For the past two weeks, retailers offered fewer discounts and the stores didn’t seem quite as packed with customers as before. But with push coming to shove — in some stores, literally — shoppers are rushing back to take advantage of last minute bargains, according to Martin.
While a majority of the population is finished with their holiday shopping, a Visa survey claims that three-fourths of gift givers still have at least one thing to buy before they call it a day.
There are a variety of reasons why people wait until the proverbial last minute to do their shopping, with a natural tendency towards procrastination being at the top of the list. In other instances, Americans are waiting for their year-end bonus, if there is one, to wrap up their shopping.
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