Still have some Christmas shopping to do? You’re not alone

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – You may think rain would slow down shoppers at Hamilton Place mall, but that was not the case on Wednesday.

Many shoppers are realizing there’s still so many Christmas gifts that need to be bought, with only little time left.

Oftentimes, shoppers spend several weeks preparing presents for Christmas day.

Local shopper Jeff Burnette is proof that the gifting process may take time.

“I actually started a few weeks ago.. little by little, but now I think I’m about done,” Burnette said.

A survey released by the National Retail Federation found that, by December 12th, only 12 percent of people were done with their holiday shopping.

One group of sisters from Cleveland, Tennessee joined the crowd of last minute shoppers Wednesday evening.

They said they’re around 50 percent done with their gift shopping, which they typically begin 6 days before Christmas.

The Lisulo sisters said they wait to catch holiday deals at the end.

Some shoppers are pushed to quickly prepare for the holiday.

Teresa Cheatham recently moved to Chattanooga.

She started her holiday shopping in the morning and by late afternoon was completely finished.

“This is nothing like Atlanta the area we’re from I got up, got out and I had everything done within four hours.  It’s not as crowded as the area I moved from,” Cheatham said.

She added that some years she starts her Christmas shopping in October, but this year had a late start.

“I didn’t get started this year because we’re building an addition onto our house, but I was happy to come out and get everything done in one day,” Cheatham said.