Hour-long queues at Long Island stores as last-minute holiday shoppers undeterred by omicron fears
DEER PARK, Long Island (WABC) -- Better late than never and, this year, better outdoors than indoors, when it came to last-minute holiday shopping.
"Especially with the COVID and everything. You get some fresh air circulation. So yeah, like the outdoors," shopper Don Edwards said.
Nearly everyone had a mask on Friday while shopping at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park and no one seemed bothered by the long, outdoor lines for the popular stores like Ugg, Coach and Ralph Lauren.
Some of them waited for as long as an hour.
"The line is moving pretty quickly, pretty quickly for Ugg Store. I didn't know it was gonna be this big, but I was all the way at the back," shopper Daisy Jiminez said.
"I don't mind the line. It's safer, less people in the store. It's better," shopper Karen Flynn said.
Inside the stores, there was social distancing and there were also some pretty huge sales to take advantage of, in the final hours before Christmas.
Shopping is really only a part of it at Tanger Outlets because the mall is also about the experiences.
For example, customers could ice skate for an extra $10.
There was also the Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt for kids.
Business owners say they're relieved to offer a safer shopping experience this year while families were excited to spend the day together.
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