Photo: Ketil Blom HaugstulenPhoto: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
I should have started sooner, admits Syed Mujtaba.
He is hunting for the perfect gift for his sister.
The clock is ticking: on Christmas Eve this year, the shops are closed.
Published: 23/12/2023 17:31
– I have to find a gift she won’t forget, at least not for a couple of years, says Syed Mujtaba (31).
Together with friend and current supporter Syed Arslan (26), he searches through the hangers on the third floor of Steen og Strøm in Oslo.
The aim: to find a Christmas present for the sister, which is both nice, personal and not too expensive. He wants to show her how much she means to him.
The problem: It’s Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Eve this year the shops are closed because Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday.
Most shopping centers in the Oslo area are open until 8pm today. Then it’s over.
Mujtaba is not alone in being late with the gifts.
Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Sea view
But some do it deliberately. Anne Lise Haugen buys jewelery in a clothes and jewelery shop.
– Little Christmas Eve is a great day to shop, especially if you’re out between 10 and 11. But it’s a bit last minute, so it can be a bit stressful. This often leads to more expensive and finer shopping, she says.
Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Sea view
Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Sea view
Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Sea view
Pleased with this year’s Christmas shopping
The official figures for this year’s Christmas shopping are not yet clear. But center manager Unni Merethe Aasgaard at Storo storsenter is very satisfied with the Christmas shopping so far. Despite interest rate increases and price rises.
Last week, the center had an increase in turnover of 1.8 per cent, compared to last year. Trade has been great ever since black week.
But one type of trade is experiencing a decline:
– The high-end stores, where a garment can cost many thousands of kroner, there they see that the customers think more about it. Fortunately, we have the most everyday shops where people get what they need, says Aasgaard to Aftenposten.
In several of the stores, they notice that customers are more price conscious.
– Coop Mega says that customers are interested in affordable goods during the week, but at the weekend and at Christmas they like to buy a little extra.
Maybe the budget breaks
Why Syed Mujtaba has waited with the last gifts until the day before the day?
– I should have started earlier, he admits.
Then he could perhaps make a bargain, now the budget of NOK 800 might explode.
But he is not the type to easily get stressed, he says. It is pleasant to walk around the city. He also lives in Stord, and there are limited gift options for someone who is looking for something special. Now that the engineer is on a work trip in Oslo, he has set aside the whole day for this gift project.
Photo: Ketil Blom Haugstulen
Sea view
Have the plan ready
After considering several different jackets and coats, Syed Mujtaba seeks help from his sister, and he sends a message with a picture of an orange coat. – Does this color work? The answer takes a while, and the friends hurry on. He also has to buy something extra nice for his parents.
If they don’t find the gift with a capital G in this shopping centre, they go on to Storosenteret. Don’t they find anything there? Sandvika shopping center next. They don’t give up. It’s barely 2 p.m. It doesn’t close there until 8 p.m.
2023-12-23 16:31:51
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