Meridian Crossroads Shopping Center sees a large number of last-minute holiday shoppers

Many shoppers are rushing to local stores to check off some last-minute items on their holiday shopping lists.

For many shoppers, the pandemic has made them depend heavily on online shopping, but some shoppers are sticking to their tradition of in-store holiday shopping.

The parking lot at the Meridian Crossroads Shopping Center was filled with cars , as shoppers hurried about, hoping to avoid the crowds of those attempting to purchase last-minute gifts.

“Just some last-minute shopping, just for small things that we needed to do. We’re actually from Ellisville, but we got up this morning at 6am, so we can avoid the traffic,” said Nundra Jones, last minute shopper.

“I feel like everybody’s out last-minute shopping, so I’m expecting a crowd. I be so busy and it’s hard to get stuff done when you have so much other stuff to do, so I have to get it in when I can,” said Jamyla Fenton, last minute shopper.

Two women shared that they don’t believe the pandemic has impacted the last-minute holiday shopping crowd.

“It’s still going to be busy, I feel like its still going to be busy, because I want Jackson, -- oh my God, its full everywhere I go, --like oh, let me get out of here,” said Viviana Lopez, last minute shopper.

“I think there’ll be a lot of people coming out until the stores close on Christmas eve,” said Jones.

Some stores have extended their hours of operation to accommodate last minute holiday shoppers.