Last-minute shoppers in stores week before Christmas

Dec. 23—Andrea Sparks was out last-minute Christmas shopping at Martin's Family Clothing on Thursday and said, although she hates waiting until the last days, she always finds herself finishing her shopping right before Christmas.

"I am a last-minute shopper because I try to get everything that the kids want, so I wait till the last little bit so they can give me all their Christmas lists," Sparks said. "You know how kids are, they change their mind. But it's not the kids' fault, it's definitely my fault; I'm a last-minute shopper."

Sparks, 37, from Trinity, said she procrastinates when it comes to her Christmas shopping.

"I push it off and push it off because I don't like to do it," she said.

Sparks was shopping with one of her daughters, Bella Sparks, 13, from Trinity, on Thursday at Martin's Family Clothing. She said she still had 60% of her Christmas shopping left to do.

"All of my children I still have to buy some for, and then I still have to buy for my parents," Sparks said.

Sparks said the 40% of her Christmas shopping she has completed was done in the last two months and was done online. She said she hopes to improve next year and get her shopping done earlier.

"I would like to do it before, but if I do it before I'll probably do most of mine online," Sparks said. "When I do it beforehand, I usually start Black Friday and then go from there."

Yarahy Marcelino is the head cashier at Martin's and is training to be a manager.

"I'd say it's a little busier than last year with the last-minute shoppers," she said. "I usually get customers telling me, oh, I wait until the last minute to shop."

Marcelino said Martin's sees business pick up the closer it gets to Christmas.

"Usually on the weekends, but always the week before," she said.

Last-minute shoppers usually purchase blankets, shoes, a bunch of hoodies, and a lot of stocking stuffers, Marcelino said. She said the store has sales the week before Christmas to bring in the last-minute shoppers.

"We usually do our sales on shoes and our accessories and then our Carhartt," Marcelino said. "Our Carhartt goes out really fast."

Melva Gray, 58, from Tanner, was last-minute shopping in Martin's on Thursday but said she usually does not wait until the last minute. She was purchasing University of Alabama long-sleeved T-shirts for her son and grandson.

"I'm usually finished by now, but I just got behind and I knew today was the day for me to come and get them, so I came and got them," she said. "I'm through with everything else, just these two."

Gray said she does not like last-minute shopping.

"I'm usually through the day after Thanksgiving," she said. "Get it over with early and then you don't have to worry about this last-minute rush. And nothing is really out there."

Gray said this year she got behind due to things going on in her life like work.

"But I'm still doing good if I only had two gifts to get," she said.

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.