The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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  • Tanner Kent

    Still shopping

December 23, 2008

Winter weather hinders shoppers

Effect is chilling for Christmas

By Tanner Kent

MANKATO — Elspeth Carlstrom walked to a window in her Lake Washington home Saturday morning and knew her shopping plans were shot.

“There were drifts everywhere,” she said. “There was no way I was getting into town.”

By Sunday morning, Carlstrom’s fortune had changed little. She said the drifts were even worse as blowing winds and plunging wind chills combined with the previous day’s 5-inch snowfall to create a weekend-long roadblock for some holiday shoppers.

For local retailers and the River Hills Mall, that meant a dramatic slowdown on Super Saturday, usually the second-busiest shopping day of the year behind Black Friday.

And for Carlstrom, that meant a special trip into town Tuesday morning.

But in little more than an hour’s time, the 23-year-old was able to purchase the last of her gifts. In tow were an ice-fishing pole, novels by Kurt Vonnegut and Jack Kerouac, a Rod Stewart LP for her mom and a smattering of other packages.

But her last stop — Menards — was for herself.

“I’m getting a staple gun,” Carlstrom said a bit triumphantly. “Who doesn’t need a staple gun?”

America’s Research Group reported a six-year low in the number of shoppers taking advantage of the final weekend before Christmas.

With the economy already wreaking havoc on profits, retailers tried to combat the weekend slowdown with bargain prices and storewide sales. At River Hills Mall, the evidence was clear.

Meredith Johnson shopped for her grandkids — spread out, she said, all over “God’s green creation” — at PacSun and American Eagle, which were offering 50 percent off nearly all merchandise.

Paul Waichel, who was cruising the mall for his fiancee, said he found a few things at Wet Seal and New York and Company, which were hosting everything-under sales.

“I’m not much of a saver when it comes to shopping,” Waichel said. “But this year it seems like you can’t go anywhere without running into a good deal.”

Waichel said he’s an “habitual 11th-hour shopper,” and he’s not alone. On Monday, the National Retail Federation reported the average person had only 65 percent of their shopping complete; in the same survey, about 20 percent of people said they haven’t even begun.

Waichel, however, was nearly finished when he pulled up to a jewelry store counter with several bags already brimming with gifts. Waichel said he had just one gift to buy.

“My fiancee already has her ring, so now I wanted to get her a ...” said Waichel, before trailing off. “Maybe I better not say. She reads the newspaper.”

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