Last-minute shoppers get last crack at buying Christmas gifts
At about noon on Christmas Eve, Eddie Pimentel was outside the Meadows Mall in Las Vegas, thinking about the shops on his list to buy gifts for his son and daughter, nieces and friends.
“I’ve got to go to Lids, Footlocker, JCPenney, Bath and Body Works, Champs,” the 40-year-old Las Vegas insurance agent said as he stood near the entrance to the mall on 4300 Meadows Lane. “They want to get hats and shirts and things, and will get what they get.”
Pimentel said that looking around the mall, he thought the last-minute shopping rush would be “a lot worse”
“I think people have been doing their shopping and now it’s just last-minute gifts (shoppers), like me.”
Many put-it-off holiday shoppers like Pimentel started out early on Saturday, the last shopping day before Christmas.
‘You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do’
At the Meadows, Julio Cruz, 41, said he would rather be at home watching sports than shopping.
“The reason is my daughter asked for something at the last minute,” said Cruz, a North Las Vegas construction worker and father of daughters aged 18 and 13. He bought shoes from Footlocker and a gift card.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for the family,” he said. “I work best under pressure. But I did most of my stuff online.”
Just up the road a few miles away from the mall,
the Best in the West Shopping Center’s parking lot was packed around 2:30 p.m. Best Buy, Five Below and Marshalls drew the largest streams of shoppers entering and exiting.
People walking out of Best Buy pushed carts carrying televisions or holding large boxes. Jessica and Tedi Bagley, however, emerged from the store both empty-handed.
“We were just looking for a toy. The Avatar scorpion plane,” Tedi Bagley said. “I think it’s from the new movie. My grandson wanted it.”
She described the scene inside Best Buy as “kind of crazy.”
“It’s more stressful than merry,” Jessica Bagley said.
Jessica Bagley said her trip to seek out the toy was necessary because she just learned of her grandson’s desire.
“Today it’s our first stop because that’s the only thing we really needed,” Tedi Bagley said.
‘As usual, it’s nuts’
In another section of the sprawling shopping center, Gerard Erken walked with a Five Below shopping bag and Red Bull can in one hand.
He said Five Below was his first stop of many of the day. The bag he was holding was full of stocking stuffers.
“As usual it’s nuts,” Erken said. “Really busy and everything is sold down. There’s not much merchandise.”
Back at Meadows Mall, the place was bustling with activity on both levels. People, shopping bags in hand, took breathers to stop at the food court or stand in the Auntie Anne’s line for some sustenance.
Jacob Williams came to the mall to shop with his brother Jordyn Williams who just got back into town from Wyoming.
His brother wanted to get a cardigan from Tilly’s that he couldn’t find back in Wyoming. Jordyn Williams said his travel experience just to get back to Las Vegas was far worse than his shopping experience on Saturday.
“It wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I’m just happy to be back home.”
His brother said he expected the mall to be busier the day before Christmas.
“It was pretty calm today if you want to compare that to the other times I’ve been here,” Jacob Williams said.
Xochil Renteria was checking out store at the mall with Lena Hamilton. Renteria was doing last-minute shopping for her family and noted some sticker shock by some of the high prices.
“I got a hat for my boyfriend,” Hamilton said. “I just needed to get stuff for him, that was basically it.”
Hamilton was surprised at how busy the mall was but impressed by the selection.
“They’re stocked up. I thought everything would be empty, but they stocked up all the stores so it’s easier to find stuff,” she said.
Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.co. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter. Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.
