WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Shoppers packed Tanger Palm Beach Outlets Mall on Christmas Eve as they got in some last-minute shopping before the stores closed at 6 p.m.
The National Retail Federation believes holiday retail sales will increase between 3% and 4% compared with last year's figure. It estimates the total could end up between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion.
One day earlier, the federation estimated about 142 million people planned to shop on the last Saturday before Christmas.
That estimation is a 12.7% increase from 2017's "Super Saturday, the last time Saturday before Christmas was on Dec. 23. The industry group described the increase as "up significantly" in a release posted about two weeks ago.
Domonique Virgo, who was doing some holiday shopping, said she saw a few lines for stores at the Tanger Outlets Mall in West Palm Beach. She said the most frustrating part was the parking situation.
"The parking is nuts and it took me like 20 minutes just to park," Virgo said. "I had to pay $10 to somebody just for their spot. It was that hectic.”
Brandon Craig said finding a spot was "a Christmas miracle" after fighting with a few other cars for spots. He came to the mall to buy some candles and body sprays and saw the crowds across the facility.
“It’s actually been really [busy]" he said. "It’s taken me like 15, 20 minutes just to find a parking spot."
James Fogarty, who was shopping with his family Sunday, said he was at the mall to get clothes for his younger siblings. He said his family also bought him some new clothes to wear at school and made jokes about lines to enter stores.
"I mean this Nike line is pretty absurd," Fogarty said. "I think they are selling fast passes for them nowadays."
