GREENWOOD — The window for finding the perfect presents to put under your Christmas tree is quickly closing.
At shopping centers like Greenwood Park Mall, the busiest days for shoppers are expected to be this Friday and Saturday.
These procrastinators represent the estimated one third of Americans who — according to a TopCashback.com survey — wait until the last minute to get their gifts every year.
Steven and Daniel Paez were on a mission to get their mother a new bracelet from Pandora on Tuesday.
Finding a gift for mom was stop one of a dozen for their holiday shopping spree — which they each estimate they’ll spend between $500 to $1000 on.
This year, the brothers are focusing on giving rather than receiving.
“Throughout the year I feel I’ve been blessed from other people. If there’s one point and time in the year to give back this is a good time to do it," Paez said.
Childhood friends Laina Burnworth Alicia Morelock were also at the mall on Tuesday doing some last minute shopping.
But they were a little stumped on what to get their siblings.
“I have to buy some stuff for my brothers, so I don’t know where to go," Morelock said. “Buckle or wrangler. Video games. Both of them like that kinda stuff.”
Area Director, Marketing and Business Development Tiffani Adkins says Greenwood Park Mall has a little something for everyone — you just need to know where to look to find the best deals.
“Accessories are really good add on gifts you’re gonna want. Buckle has everything for you. For the female in your life you can do some perfume," Adkins said. “We also have accessories for the guys. These are nano-suction technology different accessories. Typically those are anywhere from $20 to $50.”
Consumer expert Samantha Landau with TopCashback says another way to save money is getting cash back through your credit card company.
Landau recommends seeing if you can get increased rewards on certain purchase categories or exclusive offers for stores you plan to shop at.
But she says beware of scams.
“Fraudsters are targeting you, unfortunately. Sad to say but it is easy to get fooled by scammers this time of year because there’s a sense of desperation and worry that you’re not gonna get you’re not gonna get your gift on time," Landau said.
She recommends not clicking on links if you don’t see the full URL. If the ‘https://’ [’] doesn’t have an ‘s’ before the backslashes, avoid it.
Your last opportunity to shop here at Greenwood Park is this Sunday, December 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
