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Last-minute shoppers brave the crowds on the busiest shopping day of the year

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Published  December 21, 2019 6:28pm PST
Holidays
KTVU FOX 2

Shoppers find large crowds on the last Saturday before Christmas

Leigh Martinez reports from Livermore.

LIVERMORE, Calif. - The Saturday before Christmas is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year. An estimated 148 million people will shop in stores and online on Super Saturday. 

At Livermore’s Prime Outlets, the parking lot started to fill up after 9am. 

"We had to arrive an hour before [opening] just to find parking,” said kiosk seller Joshua White. "This is outrageous. The parking lots are jam-packed. From here, to I'd say the moon.” 

Sisters Ashley and Kelly Pierson make shopping on this day an annual tradition. 

"We're pretty much finished at this mall, but we have a few others that we need to visit,” said Ashley Pierson, who is visiting from Philadelphia. 

To make the day fit their tradition, they must shop at physical brick and mortar stores to put them in the holiday spirit. 

"To me, you kind of lose some of that when you do it online, so even though it's crowded, even though we're battling in the parking lot, It's fun still being here, everyone is in the spirit,” said Kelly Pierson of Danville. 

For others out shopping, though, this day was the only day all holiday season for them to shop. 

"I'm a teacher and I've been working until yesterday, so now I'm on a mad scramble to get my shopping done,” said Ann Corridon of Oakley.

In the middle of the outlets, a group of 10 teenage boys dressed in what looked like holiday wrapping paper-print suits screamed across the crowds about free gift-wrapping. 

"We're basically just yelling at people making them come on by,” said Joey Herz from Amador High School.

The Amador High School students were offering free gift-wrapping as part of a fundraiser for the George Marks Children’s House. 

"We're wrapping gifts for free today and asking for any donation to help us fundraise for a pediatric care center in San Leandro that helps with end of life care for families,” said student Matt Kenning.

Their goal is $100,000 and they are accepting donations online – a reminder that giving can happen all year.