WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — With hours to go until the stores all close, holiday shoppers filled Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township and others like it Sunday in a race to cross a few final items off their Christmas lists.
Though buzzing with activity and some shoppers noticeably speedwalking from store to store, several said Lehigh Valley Mall wasn’t especially crowded Sunday by typical holiday standards.
“We came yesterday and it was too busy. It’s way better today.”
Crystal Hansen of Allentown
“We came yesterday and it was too busy,” Crystal Hansen of Allentown said. “It’s way better today.”
Shoppers reported a variety of reasons for waiting until the last minute.
“We were waiting for a gift in the mail and it didn't arrive,” Alan Villalobos of Macungie said. As a result, he said, he needed a “last minute replacement.”
'It happens every year'
“It happens every year,” said Ellie Mainville, visiting the Lehigh Valley from Maine. “The entire month of December, I'm like, ‘Oh, I'll go Christmas shopping.’
"But then I never end up going and I always save it for like the craziest day.”
“Of course. Why not?”
Shopper Crystal Hansen of Allentown
She said that Sunday’s crowds were nowhere near the chaos of Black Friday.
The National Retail Federation, a trade group, projected in November that the 2023 holiday shopping season will see $957 billion to $967 billion in overall spending, an all-time high.
The group forecast $875 of holiday spending for the average consumer this year, another record high.
Hansen said that she is open to getting her holiday shopping done on Christmas Eve again next year.
“Of course," Hansen said. "Why not?”