UglyChristmasSweaters.com co-founders Mark and Fred Hajjar talk about the business situation.
With just one day for the Christmas holiday, shoppers across the country are heading to local malls en masse – facing the COVID-19 pandemic risks and renouncing social distance to hunt for last-minute gifts.
In California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s second order to stay at home met even more resistance than before – both residents and small businesses struggling to survive.
Livermore’s San Francisco Premium Outlets in the bay area were full, according to Twitter users. Images from the NBC Bay Area showed lines of people hanging around the parking lots.
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According to orders in Alameda County, retailers and malls are allowed to operate with limited capacity, according to SF Gate. Restaurants, bars and personal care centers are closed because cases have increased.
Just half an hour away, Walnut Creek shoppers filled the Broadway Plaza despite waiting times, with a few stores allowing only one or two customers at a time.
Holiday shoppers keep their distance and wear masks while driving an escalator to fight the spread of the new coronavirus Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree, Colorado. (AP Photo / David Zalubowski)
In san diego – where ICU beds are close to 80% of capacity – shopping center officials told NBC7 that the weekend was “five times busier” than the previous one.
On the coast of Portland, Oregon, mall managers reported witnessing similar scenes at Clackamas Town Center.
The East Coast was no exception, with stores still busy after “Super Saturday” – Saturday before Christmas – in states like Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Florida.
Although online sales in 2020 reached a record high – Adobe is forecasting $ 189 billion this season – As Americans buy from home, late deliveries due to problems with the US postal service have affected carefully planned gift exchanges.
Millions of packages are likely to reach the end of this year, as the organization juggles the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, the Georgia Senate elections, stimulus checks and medications, as well as the influx of the holiday season and mail. normal.
It has been a difficult year for the USPS, which received $ 10 billion from the United States Department of the Treasury to continue operating.
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That said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States say Christmas shopping at crowded stores is considered a high-risk activity.
According to the National Retail Federation, 150 million Americans said they plan to shop on Super Saturday alone, up from 148 million in 2019.