Conditions Looking Good for Last-Minute Shoppers With Just a Week Before Christmas
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Long lines and crowded parking lots used to be an indicator of a busy holiday shopping season, but on the Central Coast without seeing that it is hard to tell where the buying power is these days.
It may be in front of a computer. It may also be cooling off.
A new poll released on ABC news shows more than 40 percent of the shoppers will be spending less this year than last year.
Santa Barbara's Paseo Nuevo Mall had that rarely seen vibrant look from the past the day after Thanksgiving but since then it has been a leisurely stroll for shoppers without that sense of the scramble for deals.
At the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta, at 10 a.m. you could get a parking spot in the first half of the parking lot. That's a good tip for mid week early shoppers. It will likely have a different look this weekend.
On line shopping is still taking the foot traffic away for many stores. Those who are looking for boutique items or something made locally, they are out in person to touch and feel the products. Some are also very committed to helping the local retailers, an essential piece to the local economy.
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