Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers Out In Force
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You made your list, you checked it twice -- but that does not mean all those holiday errands are finished.
With Christmas Eve just hours away, shoppers hit Twin Cities' grocery stores and shopping malls all day.
Holiday spending is expected to increase about 4 percent over last year, which is well above the average jump.
Kami Kleven is one of those people who wait right before Christmas to get their shopping done. An estimated 75 percent of holiday shoppers wait until the last few days. For Kami, that means 11-straight hours of shopping at Rosedale Center.
"I feel like that's what pushes me to get it all done. It's that motivation that I only have today," Kleven said. "My kids are with me so that helps me, too."
Lunds & Byerlys says Dec. 23 is right up there with the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve when it comes to busy shopping days.
The standing rib roast is a big seller, along with sweets.
"We sell a lot of baking items to bake cookies and cakes. Butter is flying off the shelves," Lunds & Byerlys' Nicola Kountoupes said.
Across the parking lot, it is also a top-three sales day at the liquor store. Wine will make up about 60 percent of sales Wednesday and Thursday.
"When I get done with the family, kind of a nightcap to calm down after the shenanigans of the day," shopper Maggie Stern said.
Lunds & Byerlys grocery stores will be open until 4 p.m. Thursday.
