Procrastinators, this is your season.
Two big chains, one known for apparel and the other for toys, are catering to the tardy and pushing the last-minute shopping envelope to its limit:
•Kohl's. The department-store chain is already in the middle of a marathon, staying open around the clock through 6 p.m. Christmas Eve.
This is the fifth year Kohl's has offered 24-hour shopping leading up to Christmas "to offer customers a convenient opportunity to complete their last-minute holiday shopping when it works best for their schedule," Jon Grosso, Kohl's executive vice president and director of stores, said in a statement.
•Toys R Us. A 63-hour shopping spree starts at 6 a.m. Friday at stores nationwide and they'll stay open through 9 p.m. Christmas Eve, said Joe Contrino, a spokesman for the New Jersey-based toy store chain.
The extra shopping time will be popular among consumers who have missed online shipping deadlines.
Saturday is expected to be one of the biggest shopping days of the year, according to the National Retail Federation. About 126 million consumers will shop on so-called Super Saturday, the organization predicts.
“Even though many consumers got a head start with holiday shopping early in the season, millions more are leaving their gift buying to the last minute and beyond,” Matthew Shaw, CEO of the retail group, said in a statement. “Stores will be packed the next few days as consumers rush to complete their shopping.”
The federation's annual survey showed more than half of U.S. adults were expected to finish their holiday gifting shopping by Wednesday.
“Consumers have actually made a little bit more progress on their holiday shopping than we saw last year,” said Katherine Cullen, the federation's director of retail and consumer insight. “Even though consumers have made a big dent in their shopping lists, we are still expecting them to shop through the end of the season.”
Kelly Bennin, of Palm City, Fla., admits she hasn't started her holiday shopping yet.
“I'm a night owl so I appreciate the stores being open later,” Bennin said. “I'm sure my fellow procrastinators, as well as people who work day shifts or don't like to shop online, will be happy with the extended hours too.”
