Last minute shoppers filling local stores | News, Sports, Jobs – NUjournal

Dec 24, 2021
With temperatures in the 40s Thursday, downtown New Ulm was busy with last minute holiday shoppers.
NEW ULM — With only a few hours to go before Christmas, downtown New Ulm was doing brisk business Thursday.
Nearly all stores had a steady stream of customers coming and going Thursday afternoon. This was on top of the already busy holiday shopping season.
Guten Tag Haus was extremely busy on Wednesday, Dec. 22. It had slowed by Thursday but the shop was starting to sell out of Christmas items.
Guten Tag Haus manager Barbara Larson said they sold out of the seasonal foods and treats. The nutcrackers and smokers were close to selling out. Larson said she had to rearrange the shelves because there were not enough nutcrackers left to fill them all.
Larson said traditionally they do not see much last-minute shopping because people start Christmas shopping early. Last-minute shoppers tend to be men with their kids trying to find items for mom.
The nutcrackers at Guten Tag Haus have been flying off the shelf this year. Most of the inventory was sold by Thursday. The 2021 shopping season was strong.
Inspired was extremely busy Thursday. Employee Robin Huber said with such mild weather, the store is always filled with shoppers.
She felt like the store was busy since September. Scarfs were selling very well and were nearly sold out as of Thursday. Inspired’s jewelry sells well every year.
Bailey Creek Boutique was full Thursday afternoon. Gift cards were selling well, but owner Sandy Reinke noticed no all the customers were buying gifts. She said many women were coming in to buy clothes for themselves.
“They were done Christmas shopping and were now trying to pick out their outfits,” she said.
Gallery 512 reported a similar trend. The boutique was selling more blouses and dresses than last year because unlike 2020, there are celebrations and festivities to attend.
Men’s items were selling well at Gallery 512 too. One of the most popular items was men’s shackets. This is a combination shirt and jacket. The perfect item for the winter season.
Overall, downtown businesses were reporting a strong sales season. Shopping was up significantly, compared to the 2020 Christmas season. In-store purchasing remained popular. Some believe the strong sales were related to the pandemic. Unlike 2020, there are fewer lockdown regulations and people can get out to more events. At the same time, customers who are staying in for the holidays are putting more effort into decorating their homes.
Larson at Guten Tag Haus said decorations were selling much better than last year.
Another popular gift item this season was art supplies, for adults and kids. With people spending time indoors, they are looking for activities to keep busy through the coming winter. #gallery-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

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