Christmas Shopping

There are now just ten more shopping days until Christmas, and merchants across Louisiana are prepared to offer shoppers good selection and great deals on holiday gifts. Retail analyst Jim Rutledge says stores are expecting a surge of consumers craving values. Rutledge says merchants want to move as much of their inventory as possible before the end of the year, and so they're marking it down to move. He says many popular gift items from Christmases Past are big again this year. Rutledge suggests trying to get some shopping in during middle of the week, if you want to avoid crowds. He says retailers are ready for scores of Christmas shoppers over the next ten days.

For those that are still planning on shipping gifts to friends and family you might want to do it now. FedEx spokesperson Jennifer Caccavo advises to ship early. She says procrastinators can ship up until December 23rd for delivery on Chrismas Eve. Caccavo says this is the busiest week of the year. She says they've seen a 10-percent increase in deliveries from last year. Caccavo says make sure to pack your deliveries in a good sturdy box with good packaging tape and enough packing material. She says one reason deliveries are up, is that holiday travelers are shipping their gifts instead of packing them in their luggage.