This holiday season, the shortest in more than a decade, created a backlog of shoppers. According to a national survey, about 32 million people had not even started shopping by Dec. 9, and so desperate armies of buyers will be scuttling through malls until the final hours. This year, it wasn't just the usual procrastinators, forgetful husbands or overworked professionals. Everyone, it seems ran out of time.
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Last minute shoppers walk near Macy's at Sunvalley Mall in Concord, Calif., on Sunday, Dec.. 22, 2013. Many came early to avoid the afternoon crowds. (Susan Tripp Pollard/Bay Area News Group) ( SUSAN TRIPP POLLARD )
"I waited until the last minute," said Pittsburg resident Genevieve Gray. "I'm usually pretty early."
But she made up for it with an early start on Sunday morning at the Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord, which extended its hours to 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the final holiday shopping blitz. At just after 9 a.m., Gray crossed her last gift off the list -- a personalized ornament from a mall kiosk.
"I'm done!" she raved, giving a fist pump in the middle of the mall before heading out to buy wrapping paper.
"A lot of people are doing last-minute shopping this year," said Samantha Graham, of Oakley, a retail worker at Sunvalley who sold Gray the ornament. "My house is usually done up by Thanksgiving. This year, we don't even have our Christmas tree yet."
Thanksgiving fell late on the holiday calendar this year, creating the shortest shopping season in 11 years — 26 days, compared to 32 last year. Consumers, juggling jobs and kids, absorbed the notable time crunch.
"I have absolutely no time," said Marc Morris, a construction worker from Martinez who was at JC Penney Sunday morning shopping for his girlfriend and her kids.
Still, many last-minute shoppers were masters of efficiency, arriving early and knocking out an entire Christmas list before lunchtime.
