Last-minute Bay Area Christmas shoppers struggling to find gifts
There was plenty of last-minute shopping across Bay Area shopping centers on Sunday.
KPIX found shopper Robert Ricks who was on a mission with a tight deadline.
"I'm going to Shoe Palace to go buy somebody a pair of shoes for Christmas," said Ricks, as he walked to the store. "I procrastinate every year, and I wait until last minute to shop. So I'm always on the same time, one day before Christmas."
Ricks began his Christmas shopping on Sunday morning in Emeryville's Bay Street Shopping Center.
The first item on his list was a specific pair of retro Nike shoes. He went to two stores and couldn't find the size he needed.
"So the shoes I wanted, it's popular; they're sold out," said a disappointed Ricks.
He said the backup plan was to get a gift card so the person could return once the shoes were back in stock.
"It's a lot of stress and anxiety, especially when somebody requests something and you can't get it for them," said Ricks.
His next stop was Pandora to get gifts for the women in his life: mom, sister, daughter, and granddaughter.
A supervisor at Pandora greeted Ricks as he walked in, saying she was happy to see him back.
She had helped Ricks the last time he had gotten Christmas gifts there.
On Sunday, he spent $900 on bracelets and charms. He said his family always loved the Pandora gifts.
"I still got to do a little more shopping. So once I get that done, then I'm happy," said Ricks.
Ricks left Emeryville to go to another location to try to finish his list. He said he'll try to start early next year, but admitted he'd been saying that for years.
"I'm just a last-minute person, that's my fault," said Ricks.
