HARTFORD, Conn. — As the holidays grow closer and closer, stores become more and more crowded, as shoppers try to pick up those last gifts before they head home.
According to Businesswire, the coming weekend will prove to be some of the busiest all year. Friday Dec. 20 through Monday Dec. 23 are expected to see some of the highest shopping traffic of 2024. Dec. 21, also known as Super Saturday, would be the second busiest, only behind Black Friday.
In Connecticut, you can see the traffic at places like Winterfair at Hartford Union Station, where local vendors line the Great Hall every Saturday and Sunday leading up to Christmas. Glastonbury native Taylor Star Osborne made her way to market Sunday.
“My train’s running a few minutes late, so I thought I’d pop in, and so far I’m leaving with two candles,” said Osborne, “I got everything out of the way earlier, but absolutely busier than other years that I’ve seen this year.”
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The National Retail Federation projected holiday spending would grow upwards of 3.5%. In addition, more people have chosen to shop in-person rather than online compared to 2023.
This trend is something vendors like husband and wife Diane and Wayne Capers see first-hand at the African-American wrapping paper business Transcendent Dezigns. A journey which started 30 years ago for the couple in Atlanta.
“My son would not go to greet Santa, and then that’s when it came to me and I said, ‘Oh my goodness, my son has never seen a black Santa Clause before,” said Diane, “And then I noticed when I went to the stores, I was looking for wrapping paper, African American wrapping paper. Couldn’t find any.”
“It’s been really eye-opening,” said Wayne.
“People have never seen it before, and they really love it,” said Diane.
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