Bell Tower Shops seeing less last-minute shoppers

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- 25 percent off, 65 percent off, buy one, get one free! The National Retail Federation reports that early promotions helped shoppers get a head start this season. As of December 10th, most already had over half their shopping done!

“Um, probably about 30. (I’m) 30 percent done,” said Trish Walston. The shopper is flirting with becoming a last-minute shopper, and she’s not the only one. Store managers at the Bell Tower Shops say, for the most part, people came in early this year.

“We even had some people start early this summer,” said Karen Krajack, manager at Draper’s and Damon’s, “because a lot of people leave here for the holidays and come back.”

Krajack said they had a significant increase in sales this season.

“We are up about 3 1/2 percent.,” she said. “That’s a healthy increase considering, you know, we have been through some rough times.”

Meanwhile, workers at Brookstone say they have seen more shoppers on a mission.

“I think I’ve seen a lot more lists this year than in the past,” said store manager, Erin Burnheimer, “and a lot more people getting things all together in ones store and trying to get everything done collectively instead of shopping around, which is nice.”

Forget about Black Friday. Super Saturday is the day these stores will have all hands on deck.

“It’s almost triple the business on this Saturday, over the weekend, than it will be on Black Friday,” Burnheimer stated.

For a list of last-minute shopping items the Bell Tower Shops has available, click here.

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