MOLINE, Illinois--- With Christmas Eve just a week away, we're in the holiday homestretch. But millions of Americans haven't finished their shopping yet. Today, they got that chance, hitting the stores for "Super Saturday" sales.
At Moline's SouthPark Mall, December 17th is Christmas crunch-time. News 8 caught up with shoppers there, who told us every stores has been busy, even busier than Black Friday. And many last-minute shoppers shared the same idea.
"Today's when I'm doing my major shopping," says Peggy Mullen. "Yes, it's a marathon. We've been going store-to-store even though I can't remember them all."
The crowds are even bigger than Black Friday, and some of the deals are too. Best Buy's General Manager explained, "A lot of the promotions have been really heavy in these last couple weeks, almost more so than Thanksgiving week."
156 million Americans are expected to have hit the stores today. That's nearly 2/3 of the country. But don't call them procrastinators. Today's shoppers insist they're just being smart, using coupons, and taking advantage of deals.
Nine in ten shoppers still haven't finished their holiday shopping. The average shopper has just over half of their gifts purchased.
"There's still plenty of things to be picked up, plenty of shopping to be done, and with the weather stretching things out for us, it's going to be a busy week."
Let the Christmas Countdown begin!