CHICAGO — Saturday is the last full day of shopping to buy presents before Christmas Eve.
Retailers are calling it “Super Saturday” and the National Retail Federation says at least 125 million people will be out shopping.
Many stores opened early and will be open late, hoping to draw in all those last minute shoppers still looking for deals.
From the Magnificent Mile to the many malls in the Chicago area, shoppers are looking for last minute gifts for their loved ones.
The store manager at the Target on Addison said the store was almost as busy as it was on Black Friday.
Target is one of the area stores that has extended hours – it’s open until midnight for those who really want to push it. On Saturday, the parking lot was jammed and the lines inside were even busier.
“This is the busiest weekend of the year. Today will rival the sales that we did, even on Black Friday,” Douglas Gottfried, store team leader, said.
Gottfried said even as online sales take a bigger share of retail sales, it all changes in the last few days because shipping either isn’t guaranteed or is too expensive.
“At this point in the year, there really aren’t that many options online. Chicago is notoriously a last minute shopping town,” he said.
Other big stores are extending their hours Saturday and Sunday, knowing that many people will be heading out to shop in the final hours before Christmas.