CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Just one week away from Christmas, it is crunch time at La Palmera mall. This is one of the busiest weekends out of the entire year.
Assistant manager of Bath & Body Works, Jennifer Gifford spoke with 3NEWS and said, "We have seen a really nice increase in traffic in our stores. This is definitely the funnest time of the year for us, we staff up, we plan and prep all through the summer and fall season."
Gifford has been working in the mall for two years, she said giving customers the best holiday shopping experience comes down to preparation. "You can't just ease into the holiday season thinking you have enough people. You have to really know what you're doing and anticipate that major increase in traffic." Gifford explained.
The assistant manager told 3NEWS, La Palmera's Bath & Body Works location sees about 2,500-3,000 people a day this time of year.
Maeloni Mills is the manager of Kendra Scott, she said their numbers are also up significantly ahead of Christmas. "We are, you know, seeing about a thousand footsteps a day compared to about 150-200 on a normal day, so definitely a huge increase." Mills said.
The Kendra Scott manager said her team starts preparing for the holiday rush in September. She said, hiring additional staff, training and a steady supply of merchandise keeps everything running smoothly. "There's nothing that my team can't handle, we have doubled in size with seasonal hiring. But everyone is so prepared for this so we're not, we're not, it's, it's easy. It's kind of like a breeze, we're having fun right now." Mills explained.
In a statement sent to 3NEWS, La Palmera General Manager Amanda Sanchez said, in part, "We expect La Palmera to be very busy through Christmas Eve and are accommodating shoppers with extended hours, having additional mall security and CCPD officers on site, and providing plenty of free surface and covered garage parking, along with valet."
La Palmera mall will have extended hours next week leading up to Christmas. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday and until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
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