Stores prep for early Christmas shoppers
Christmas is just 42 days away and stores are prepping for holiday shoppers.
Most stores already have up Christmas decorations and are starting holiday sales.
C-A-L Ranch in Pocatello started very early to prepare not just for December, but for the first of November too. It switched out its clothes for winter clothing and brought in seasonal decor.
“Sales in November is really when it starts,” said Nathan Gambles, assistant manager at C-A-L Ranch. “It’s when it gets going for us. It’s the most exciting time of the year for me. I really like the fall especially because I’m in charge of sporting goods back here. So October, November is really when I get busy as far as the gun sales and stuff.”
With only two weeks of November in the books, Gambles said the store has already seen some of its holiday crowd.
“The rush has started,” he said. “It’s off and on but the last few weeks, it’s picked up quite a bit.”
Gambles said early November and the week of Thanksgiving are some of the store’s busiest times. He said the two weeks following Thanksgiving are a little bit slower. But he said after those weeks, the rush basically picks up again non-stop until Christmas.
So why do stores prepare so early? Some people believe stores break out the Christmas gear too soon. But Gambles said staring early benefits not only the stores but the shoppers too.
“There’s a lot of people that like to get that out of the way so they can enjoy their Christmas and their holiday season,” Gambles said. “They want to go home and enjoy their Christmas, they don’t want to have to go try to beat a rush.”
Gambles said his advice to holiday shoppers is to allow plenty of time, especially for custom or special orders. He said even stores get backed up with shipping so allow stores plenty of time to order things in. He also said to remind people with Black Friday, the sales go all day, not just in the early morning. So he said if you want good deals, but not fighting the massive crowd, to come later in the day.
Gambles said some of C-A-L Ranch’s biggest sellers for the holidays are toys, home decor, winter clothing and guns.
