Gifts for the Last-Second Shopper

Dec. 14, 2007 — -- Ah, the final rush to get Christmas gifts. The crowds, the lines and of course the look that many men have as they fanatically try to fill their gift lists. Let's just call it the deer-in-the-headlights look.

But that's not you, right? You started shopping long before Thanksgiving and can avoid the mall, right? We didn't think so.

Most shoppers are still looking for gifts 10 days before Christmas. Last year, 89.2 percent of shoppers still had gifts to buy at that point, according to the National Retail Federation.

That's right: Only one in 10 folks had gotten gifts for all those on their list — both naughty and nice — a week and a half before Christmas.

It wasn't that they hadn't been thinking about gift-giving. In fact, 40 percent had started shopping before Halloween. They just never finished.

The problem is we are a nation of procrastinators, said Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the retail federation.

So what's a shopper to do? Here are some tips.

"Gift cards are huge when it comes to procrastinators and shopping," said Grannis. "They used to be thought of as impersonal," she added. But not anymore.

For women, popular last-second gifts tend to center around an experience, she said, such as a trip to a salon, theater or even a theme park.

"Anywhere a woman would not necessarily take herself," Grannis said.

For men, she said, "The home-improvement-type stores are always winners."

And if you are not sure what type of hammer or saw to get that special man in your life, don't fret: All the big stores offer gift cards. Grannis also suggested a gift card to a favorite restaurant.

The retail federation said Americans will spend $26.3 billion on gift cards this holiday season, up from $24.8 billion in 2006.

Dewayne Herbert, area director of mall marketing for Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, said that around this time of year, "It's going to get real crazy."

Traffic picks up every day until that final Saturday before Christmas.

"As long they can find their parking spot and get in and if the cash register lines aren't too long, I think people enjoy it," he said.