Last-minute shoppers shuffling through the malls Tuesday afternoon were on a mission to finish off their shopping lists in the final stretch before Christmas.
Brooke Lewis, 24, from Kailua hopped into a van with her 77-year-old grandmother, Maryanne; 16-year-old sister, Mahea; and father, Pat, to wrap up their gift buying at Ala Moana Center.
“We maybe finished half our Christmas shopping,” said Lewis, whose family is spending more than $3,000 on about 50 people. “We’re like shopping for everybody. We did one side (of the mall), and we’re off to the other side. We all waited till the last minute … so here we are. We’re on a mission for sure.”
Paige Iwanaga of Mililani had her three kids in tow as she searched for Secret Santa gifts for her family’s annual Christmas Eve party.
“It’s stressful. The mall doesn’t seem crowded, but when you get in the stores, the lines are long,” said the mother of five, who started her shopping on Black Friday, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season. “What is stressful is not the individual gifts. It’s those $25 Secret Santa stuff that’s driving me nuts. I always think I’m going to be done on Thanksgiving. You’re buying mass at Thanksgiving. You’re just kind of throwing it in your cart (because it’s cheap). Then you bring it home and it’s like, what the heck did you buy? I’ve returned so many things already.”
For the first time, more consumers planned to shop in December after Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
“While many consumers got a head start with holiday shopping by taking advantage of extraordinary sales over Thanksgiving weekend, more shopping and great deals are yet to come,” Matthew Shay, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
The survey of 6,890 consumers conducted in the first week of December found that only 1 in 10 had finished their holiday shopping.
“That means 90 percent of holiday shoppers have gifts, food, decor and/or other holiday items still to buy,” Shay said.
Ala Moana executives declined to comment on foot traffic and revenue figures, but Pearlridge Center’s general manager is projecting a 2 percent spike in sales over last year.
“We had a very, very strong Black Friday,” General Manager Fred Paine said, adding that the numbers of consumers dropped since then but picked up again Thursday. “Ever since last Thursday it’s been fantastic. It felt like the holidays finally kicked in. The pressure may be on. The parking lot is jammed with cars. The mall has just been packed with people, which is what we live for at this time of year.”
More than half (52 percent) of last-minute shoppers are planning to purchase gifts online, according to the National Retail Federation.
“I’ve seen people with their phones, looking at items, then looking it up online. I did see a lot of people comparison-shopping, which was very interesting,” Paine said. “I know online shopping is huge and it’s getting bigger every year. Now maybe people are done with that and now are going into the stores. It’s exciting and there’s a lot going on, but it’s fun because the energy level is so high.”
Jocelynn Cachuela was determined to hit up the Disney Store with her two young sons, Nolyn, 8, and Riley, 5, to complete her holiday shopping.
“I’m almost done. I bought a whole bunch of ‘Star Wars’ swords and a little bit of clothes,” she said. “I don’t want to be, like, going out with the kids because it’s going to be hard with everybody shopping, so if I know what I’m going to get, I’m just going to get in and get out.”
Mililani resident Hiroko Cloonan had no choice but to shop at the last minute for her 3-year-old daughter, Sofia.
“I’m usually with her, so I don’t really have time to go shopping,” she said. “My husband’s taking care of her now, so I have maybe 10 minutes to finish. I’m relieved. I can relax now.”
Others get a rush from shopping under the wire.
“Nothing beats the last-minute hustle and bustle of the crowd and the energy, and so we like to torture ourselves,” said Ron Fiore, a visitor from San Francisco whose family vacations in the islands every year for Christmas. He was searching for gifts Tuesday for his wife, Kristin, and 11-year-old son, Enzo. “Every year I’m pretty consistent with shopping at the last minute. I think I like the chaos, the torture. I think that it’s fun. People are for the most part pretty nice unless you’re trying to find parking.”
