(WTNH) — ‘Tis the season for last-minute present panic! As we head into the last few days before the holidays, what options do shoppers still have? We are stretching your dollar as time starts to run out.
Retailers have been begging us to shop early due to COVID-related logjams, but compared to last year, 2.2 million more people are last-minute shopping this year, and a bigger chunk of that scramble is happening online.
Marshal Cohen, Chief Retail Analyst for NPD Group said, “Some industries that have grown as much as 40%, but overall discretionary retail, the items that we buy as gifts are running at about 25% ahead of where we were last year…And you’ve got crunch time for the shippers.”
Last-minute online shopping is still a possibility; Amazon says the last day for Prime Members to get free one-day delivery is Wednesday.
But with free shipping dwindling, bargain hunters are more price conscious than ever:
- Best Buy is offering the Apple Watch 3 for $30 off
- The HyperX Cloud Flight S wireless gaming headset is $30 off, but you need to pay $5 for expedited shipping, so cross your fingers and hope it arrives.
- Costco is offering a $100 Xbox gift card for $89, and that’s a digital download available immediately.
“We’re seeing retailers partner with delivery businesses to be able to get the product to the consumer,” Cohen said.
Instacart, normally thought of for groceries, lets you sign on to their site and shop products from Best Buy, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond for a nominal fee. These gifts add just $3.85 to the total for same-day delivery.
