Shop ’til you drop
Only 5 shopping days left until Christmas

Mykai Cooeyate shops with his father Mike Cooeyate at KBtoys Toys in Gallup N.M. While browsing for Mykai's Christmas gifts, the father kept his eye out for toys involving instraments and sports for his son. That father said that it is easier to shop for his son while with him, because his son may then pick out what he likes. Mykai held onto a baseball during much of the shopping experience. His father eventually purchased the ball. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By Bernie Dotson
For The Independent

GALLUP – They had a single-minded purpose about themselves, taking advantage of shopping deals just seven days before Christmas.

They frequented Rio West Mall stores like JC Penney, K B Toys and Waldenbooks to get the best buys they could find.

Despite temperatures in the mid-30s, mall traffic kept a steady pace Wednesday.

“Overall, sales and traffic have been very, very good,” Skip Sandgrin, mall general manager the past four years, said. He noted that final holiday sales figures won’t be available until February. “This is the best holiday season that I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

That couldn’t have been more evident than at KB’s, a popular Christmas shopping spot for parents with small kids. There, footballs, soccer balls, board games and standbys like truck sets and dolls sold well.

Additionally, the store’s yearly “Toys For Tots” collection provided some shopping incentive for customers interested in making donations earmarked for disadvantaged kids.

The collection is a community effort between the store, the local recruiting branch of the U.S. Marines and the Gallup Police Department, and shows people aren’t just paying attention to prices.

“We’re doing real well so far,” Angie Joe, KB store manager, said about sales and toy collections. “In a big way, we’re giving back to the community.”

In explaining the mix between sales and collections, Joe said toy collection started about three weeks ago. She said when a customer buys something, 10 percent of the purchase comes off the sales total – should a customer opt to make a donation, she said. Donations are not required, but are certainly appreciated, she noted.

To bring visibility to the effort, two local members of the Marine Corps man donation boxes outside the store.

Ultimately, a toy-give-away will take place at the Larry Brian Mitchell Recreational Center, she said.

“We’ve collected 12 large bags of toys,” Joe said. “The fact that the (Marines) are here makes a big difference.”

Mall shoppers weren’t just interested in toy items, either. At Waldenbooks, books – what else – made for decent sales, also.

“Sales are awesome,” Valorie Lopez, store assistant manager said. “Books make safe gifts for everyone,” she said in-between ringing up customers.

Lopez said recent arrivals are selling well as are children’s books and reference guides.

Gift card sales are expected to increase this week as procrastinators find themselves running out of time, according to information put out by the National Retail Federation, a retail trade association. Recently, NRF reported that November sales rose 5.1 percent over last year and the biggest holiday dawdlers this year are men.

“We found what we wanted,” said Rose Cooyate, shopping KB’s with her two-and-a-half year old son, Mykai, and husband, Mike. “We like coming here.”