CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – The holiday shopping season officially began Wednesday with the arrival of Santa Claus in Charleston Town Center.
Now that Santa will be taking gift requests for the holiday season, it’s time for the malls to start getting crowded. According to the National Retail Federation, it expects sales to increase between 3.8% and 4.2% over last year.
“Even with the online shopping, there’s always time to get out and about and bring friends, meet friends, and do some shopping in the stores and that’s where we have a lot of fun with that socialization”, says Charleston Town Center Marketing Director Lisa McCracken.
Charleston Town Center is opening up about 15 pop up retailers during the holidays. One grand opening in particular on Wednesday was the Shipwreck Collections. They travel 2 hours from Ohio everyday to open up shop for the holidays.
“The people here are super”, says shop owner Jennifer Messer, “They’re just super friendly, they’re kind. We just developed a following here”.
They sell Christmas decorations with a twist. They’re theme this year is “Come home for Christmas” with a focus on vintage, antique, handmade, upcycled, and redone items.
Last year, the shop was a big success and they’re expecting for the same this year. They’re ready for the Charleston Town Center to start bringing in the holiday crowds.
Charleston Town Center will have extended holiday hours. You can find those hours on www.charlestontowncenter.com/.
