Local stores already seeing early Christmas shoppers
JACKSON, Tenn. — With Halloween in the rear view mirror, it’s full speed ahead toward the holidays. Which means folks are already searching for items on their holiday shopping list.
“I can’t believe how quickly it comes every year,” vineyards gifts owner Joy Meriwether said. “It seems like every year its faster and faster.”
Ornaments, Christmas trees and stocking-stuffers. It may only be the first week of November, but holiday sales have already begun.
“That makes the customers excited,” Meriwether said. “I did have people come in today and they said, oh it looks like Christmas in here, and they would get really excited.”
The locally owned shops at Northpark welcomed shoppers to get in the holiday spirit before the crowds.
“Black Friday as you know can be crazy, and I always think of Black Friday as more of the big box kind of shop,” Meriwether said.
Inside best buy, customers took advantage of their one day holiday sale, shopping for deals on new gadgets.
“Figured that we might as well get everything as early as we can,” shopper Randy McGarity said. “I was looking for a star trek beyond in the metal case, shown here.”
Whether shoppers were looking for new phones, laptops or televisions, they say shopping early is a must.
“That way you prepare ahead, and you can go ahead and start spending, and then have more money at the holidays,” shopper Karen Curtis said.
“This year I’m going to try to skip the Black Friday, and if I do any of the Black Friday it’ll be online,” shopper Penny McGarity said. “I ain’t going to try to get out and mess with the crowds.”
Although it may seem early to think about gift shopping, getting to the stores early give you more time to think about the perfect gift.
“Just make your love ones happy,” Curtis said.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than helping someone find the perfect gift,” Meriwether said.
According to a national retail federation survey, consumers plan to spend an average of about $940 this holiday shopping season. Just in case you were counting, there are less than 20 days before the big Black Friday sales and 49 days until Christmas.
