Destinee Mondragon
Staff Writer
As the holiday shopping season draws closer and coronavirus cases go up, University of La Verne students are considering how to tackle gift shopping.
In an informal survey of nine ULV students, six of the nine students said they are shopping online this holiday season while only three are shopping in person. Most participants said they worried about being among large crowds during the pandemic.
Christmas shopping on a college budget is stressful enough for some, but the COVID-19 precautionary measures required to take make it more so.
“I feel like this year has been making holidays feel less enjoyable completely since you can’t do things normally,” Taylor Xannzer, junior criminology major, said. “Christmas is one of the most favorite holidays for many people and gifts are one of the main core of it so seeing the virus affect these festivities might make people inconsiderate and not care leading us back to the start.”
According to a survey by Accenture, most buyers are choosing home delivery and minimizing in-store shopping this holiday season. The data showed that 76% of the more than 1,500 U.S. consumers surveyed said they want retailers to close on Thanksgiving Day. Slightly more than half of those cited the desire to give workers a well-deserved day off, with the remainder saying retail workers should spend the holiday with their families.
For some ULV students the worry of doing live shopping this holiday season is being in malls and shopping outlets filled with people. They said the worry of being in lines with people who may have been exposed to the virus can be a constant thought and takes away the joy of shopping for loved ones. There is also an issue that some people choose to disregard the requirement of wearing a face mask.
“I’m doing all of my Christmas shopping online because I think it’s the safest way with everything going on. And we can’t keep ignoring the virus like we have the past eight months and need to make an effort to stay quarantined,” Danittza Castro, senior chemistry major, said.
Some students noted missing packages and delayed shipping as one of their worries of shopping online.
“I think there’s already a delay now and there will probably be more of a delay since a lot of people will probably order online. That’s why I’ve already started ordering gifts for my family,” Castro said.
Some other students said they do not have an issue with Christmas shopping in person.
“I will be going out to a Christmas shop, as well as online. I don’t think the way that I normally shop during Christmas time is going to change all that much other than wearing a mask,” Dean Watson, junior education major, said.
The State Public Health Office has issued an order requiring that shopping malls to implement physical distancing to the maximum extent possible, use of face coverings by workers and customers/clients, frequent hand washing and regular cleaning and disinfection, and train workers on these and other elements of the COVID-19 prevention plan.
“As long as we follow the procedures stores are taking at malls as of now, with limited people in stores and wearing face masks all around, I see no reason why I can’t holiday shop,” said Cameron Slessor, junior business major, said. “I don’t want to have to be dealing with needing to check updates on packages coming to my house so that’s why I’m shopping live instead.”
Destinee Mondragon can be reached at destinee.mondragon@laverne.edu.
