Evening star., 1946-11-24
Rush
For Christmas
Starts Early
Cool Strike Believed
Factor us Buyers
Throng City Stores

Throng City Stores
Downtown stores are crowded and
although prices are up, sales are
heavy as Washington apparently
has plunged into its Christmas
shopping a week early, a survey
showed yesterday.
Store executives differed In their
opinions In explaining the situation.
Some said 1t is due to the coal strike
threatening less merchandise later.
Others said the cold snap had some-
thing to do with it. Still another
explanation was that the heavy
buying was just the result of more
people and more money In the
Capital.
While all agreed the stores were
Jammed yesterday, there was some
dissent that it represented a rush
OF Christmas buying.
Normally, Christmas shopping
really gets under way after Thanks
giving, one responsible official
pointed out.
1T Is only natural that people
would be stepping up their shopping,
because Of the late THANKSGIVING
this year" he declared.
Coal Strike Believed Factor.
An official Of another downtown
department store said the possi-
bility OF long coal strike, which
would curtail deliveries to the stores.
Is factor. People are buying what
they can get now, fearing that they
VIII be unable to secure the mer-
chandise later, he said.
He declared he can not subscribe
to the view that the Christmas
shopping Is starting any earlier.
He pointed out that last year and
the year before, due to the great
numbers of men in the service.
people shopped early to send Christi
mas gifts overseas in time.
Business has been very good this
fa1l and particularly fine this
month"; he said.
An executive of another big de.
partment store had this to say:
The trend Is up and shopping has
started early. Whether it's any big
ger than at this time last year. we
cannot tell until we add the cash
register records at the close of busi-
ness.
People Have More Money.
There's no one answer to it. I
would attribute 1t to the fact that
people have the money to spend and
realize they had better not wait un-
til the merchandise is gone. For Is
years, stores have been urging peo-
PIE TO buy early, and it looks as IL
the campaign has now caught ON.
This year particularly. there are
q lot OF old items that have been out
OF the picture for several years hrt
now have returned to the stores
such as wheel goods, including biz
cycles and tricycles. They are not
abundant but people want them and
know they had better get them now.
The manager of another depart
ment store said:
We are showing q normal in
crease over last year, due to general
conditions. / wouldn't say the pres
ent shopping is anything extra
ordinary at this time"
Another department store execu-
tive pointed out that the stores are
all ready for Christmas, with deco
rations up, organ music programs
and other attractions. And people
are not just crowding the stores
they really are buying, he declared.
Continues Rising Trend
Whether we can call that Christ
mas business, I do not know" he
said. Business has been going
steadily forward for several years"
An executive of another depart
ment store put 1t this way: We're
going ahead all the time. It is
hard to tell whether it is early
Christmas shopping. Take the toy
department, that already has been
running way ahead. Maybe it mean
people are shopping early. But
all other departments in the store
are running ahead Of last year.
The executive Of still another
store declared business Is ''tremen-
dously ahead of last year at this
time" but explained that this Is
probably due to advertising and the
fact that I'VE have the goods to do
| 1t with"
Last year, he said. there were cold
Spells early III November, leading
the people to buy heavy clothing
and other necessities. This year this
was delayed by the mild weather,
he declared, but the recent cold snap
has caused people to buy more.