by Robin Fiedler
This is it! The last shopping weekend before Christmas. Ready, set, go!
The Saturday before Christmas is historically the busiest shopping day of the year.
Karen Dynan, Vice-President of Economic Studies at The Brookings Institute notes, "The Saturday before Christmas was, until recent years, the busiest shopping day annually, and it should remain one of the leading days this year." Black Friday is considered the kick-off to the holiday shopping season, while the Saturday before Christmas is the potential touchdown clinching the game.
So where's the best deals? Well, look for Zhu Zhu pets at Walmart. On Dec. 16, 2009, Walmart announced that it had a shipment of Zhu Zhu pets flown into the country. "Starting at 7 a.m. each morning of Dec. 21, Dec. 22 and Dec. 23. Walmart stores nationwide will un-cage the popular Zhu Zhu Hamsters in special morning sales events." Expect news coverage of the event.
For weekend sales, "Walmart will offer the new 8GB iPod Nano for $145 with a free $50 iTunes gift card with purchase" and $8 toys for stocking stuffers. For online shoppers, Walmart is offering delivery for Christmas with standard shipping if ordered by Dec. 20, or ship an order to the store for pickup.
"With the popularity of smartphones soaring," Best Buy has "four AT&T Blackberry smartphones with new two-year activations. Effective December 12 and running through the holidays," four Blackberry models cost from $30 to $100 after a $100 discount. If you're still looking for a netbook, Best Buy has the Nokia Booklet 3G for $200 with a 2-year contract activation, a great deal if you don't mind the 2-year contract.
Sears and Kmart are touting Dec. 18 as the last day for free shipping on orders $39 and over, but there's still the online shopping option of shipping to the store for pick up. Kmart is calling its sales for the last weekend before Christmas as "Better than Black Friday." Target has under-$10 pricing on kids' clothes in a 30-65% off clearance sale. Target's free shipping ends on Dec. 21 for orders of $50 or more. Before you visit the stores, you may want to visit Sears, Kmart, or Target online stores for exclusive online discounts and sales.
Dell is offering "Fast Track" free 2-day shipping on three of its popular laptops, Inspiron 15 and Studio 15 priced from $600-$800. Apple Store is offering free 2-3 day shopping on everything! Order by Dec. 19 and Apple says it will deliver before Christmas.
Shoppers may have to brave crowded stores and long lines this weekend. But with the convenience of online shopping and the deals being offered, UPS, Fed-ex, and the USPS may have a tougher job delivering all those packages. And don't forget about Walmart's planes and trucks delivering Zhu Zhu pets across the nation. I like to think of all those delivery people as Santa's little elves.
Sources
"Best Buy Offers Added Holiday Savings on Popular Blackberry Devices, AT&T Zenon, and Nokia Booklet 3G." Best Buy. 11 Dec. 2009.
Dynan, Karen. "Five Myths about Holiday Shopping Sprees." Brookings. 29 Nov. 2009.
"Walmart Announces New Savings on Big Requests in Small Packages in Days Before Christmas." Walmart. 16 Dec. 2009.
COUPON TIME
Looking to shop online for those last-minute gifts? Start at our Christmas Sales page for the best deals.
