Merchants at Kukui Grove Center reported “great sales, exceeding their expectations,” for the Thanksgiving weekend that traditionally signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. That’s the word from Mary Daubert, promotions manager at Kukui Grove. While representatives of some
Merchants at Kukui Grove Center reported “great sales, exceeding their expectations,” for the Thanksgiving weekend that traditionally signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
That’s the word from Mary Daubert, promotions manager at Kukui Grove.
While representatives of some big chain stores both in Hawai‘i and on the Mainland reported lower-than-expected sales figures for the three-day weekend that is oftentimes referred to as the busiest shopping weekend of the year, merchants at Kukui Grove were on the whole pleased with the weekend’s results, she said.
“People had to drive around and around and wait for a parking space to open up,” said Daubert. That is something Kaua‘i travelers to O‘ahu would expect at Ala Moana or Pearlridge, but not necessarily at Kukui Grove.
“It was very busy, particularly on Friday,” said Daubert. “It was grueling, but it was all worth it. This is a very exciting period for the retail industry.”
National and local shopping-center statistics over the last few years have shown that the final full weekend before Christmas is the time the most cash is dropped for holiday gift-giving.
Locally, there are lots of last-minute shoppers, traditionally and intentionally. So, those waiting for the last minute should expect to see crowds of like shoppers the final weekend before Christmas, in this year’s case Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18 and 19.
Saturday’s annual Kukui Grove Center Kauai Christmas Parade drew 22 entered units, and they paraded around the mall to a crowd estimated to be 1,500 people strong.
