Bay Area stores prepare for last minute holiday gift shopping for Super Saturday

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- There are just five days left until Christmas and this Saturday is expected to be busiest shopping day of the entire year for Super Saturday according to the National Retail Federation, or NRF.

At the Broadway Plaza Shopping Center in Walnut Creek, some stressed out shoppers are trying to cope with the Christmas deadline.

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"I just had a really a busy two weeks of work and the short season, it's been really challenging getting out there and getting all my shopping done," says Renee San Jose, who lives in Concord.

When asked if holiday shopping has been stressful, she answers, "A little bit, I have to be honest!"

But Renee says she's still seeing some great sales. All throughout the plaza, store signs point to big sales and deep discounts.

Leidy Kanton, who lives in Antioch, says her strategy is to wait to the end to get the best deals.

"I started with 30, 40, 50, 60, now 70% off! I will probably continue shopping until midnight," says Kanton.

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The NRF predicts close to 148 million people will shop on Super Saturday, both in stores and online. That's up almost 13 million people from last year.

The NRF expects consumers to spend about $1,000 each this holiday season, which is a 4% increase from last year. The top gifts are clothes, toys and gift cards.

Associate Press found that over the past few years, the Saturday before Christmas has seen a late surge in shopper traffic.

"With retailers maintaining deep discounts late into the holiday season, total sales on Super Saturday have edged closer to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving which traditionally kicks off the season in November," according to the AP.