Outfitted with a shopping cart and matching camo stocking caps, Ostrander's Braden Knutson and his 7-year-old son, Chase, spent Saturday prowling the Fleet Farm aisles for deals as they finally began their Christmas shopping.
Braden expressed an aversion to visiting "the big city," but the avid outdoorsman also said he simply had been too busy to buy gifts any sooner. As such, they planned to use Rochester's Fleet Farm as a one-stop shop just four days before presents were to be opened while celebrating with family and friends.
"Fleet Farm is the best store in the world!" said Chase, while his father noted the store's gear "just fits our lifestyle."
If the parking lot was any indication, area residents appear to agree with the boy's sentiment.
Parking spots were scarce on the shopping holiday dubbed Super Saturday. Charlie Jezeski, Fleet Farm's assistant manager, said that's typical at this time of the year, but she pointed to two key reasons for the store's early inundation of shoppers.
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Because Thanksgiving occurred so late this year, she said, the Christmas shopping season was condensed to four weeks instead of the typical five.
The store also carries a wide selection of items, including the standard holiday discount on toys.
"You always have that last-minute shopper and … we pretty much have something for everyone," Jezeski said.
Despite the short shopping season, retail sales nationwide in the months of November and December are expected to increase 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion, according to projections by the National Retail Federation.
In an effort to get more shoppers, some retailers are staying open 24 hours a day from now until Christmas.
Kohl's for the first time is staying open for essentially five days straight, from 6 a.m. on Friday through 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Macy's and Kmart are opening some of their stores for more than 100 hours in a row from Friday through Christmas Eve. Toys R Us is staying open for 87 hours straight starting on Saturday, which is typically the second biggest shopping day of the year.
Brownsdale's Erik Campbell — with daughter Emma in tow at Fleet Farm — was one of those late-starting shoppers. His holiday shopping began Saturday, though he wasn't concerned about finishing up.
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"I'm not the browser type," Campbell said. "I know what I want, I know what I need and then I'm done."
Barbara Stowers, of Rochester, was even more succinct while picking out gifts for her five great grandchildren.
"It's not last minute," she said while pushing a cart full of gifts. "Last minute would be Tuesday night."
