Even though Alex Kraus returns to her hometown of Birmingham, Ala., only a few days before Christmas, the Weinberg senior said she usually prefers to do her holiday shopping at her local mall.
Although most Northwestern students have more time before the holidays than Kraus, who participates in a training trip each winter with the NU women’s swim team, many students still wait to make their holiday purchases after heading home.
Timing of exams and availability of stores in their hometowns may account for why NU students only contribute to some of Evanston’s holiday shopping, said Jonathan Perman, executive director of Evanston’s Chamber of Commerce.
“Students don’t play as big of a role in holiday shopping,” Perman said. “Students play an important role the other seven months they’re here.”
The Chamber usually encourages new retail stores to diversify their customer bases because many NU students leave Evanston before the holiday season, Perman said.
Weinberg senior Ellen Grigg said she usually stops by Urban Outfitters in Evanston to shop for her two sisters before she leaves on the same training trip as Kraus and then heads home to Charlotte, N.C. just before the holidays.
“I’m only home for a week during Christmas, so I really don’t have time to shop,” Grigg said.
Getting NU students from warmer regions geared up for winter typically plays a larger role for Uncle Dan’s The Great Outdoor Store, 901 Church St., than holiday purchases made by NU students, said Uncle Dan’s sales associate Aaron Bonner.
“We tend to get hit more for parents’ weekend,” Bonner said. “Students get outfitted for the winter here.”
Cold weather during Family Weekend, which falls this year from Nov. 12 to 14, can be a call to action for NU parents to buy coats and other winter apparel for students, said Brent Weiss, CEO of Uncle Dan’s. Instead of getting student sales during the holidays, Uncle Dan’s gets more sales supplying student activities and students studying abroad, he said.
“Come Christmas, the Northwestern students are gone,” Weiss said. “But on the flipside, January is a very good month because it typically has very cold weather.”
Some students say they shop at Evanston stores because they have items that are not available in their hometowns.
Holiday shopping at Blick Art Materials, 1755 Maple Ave., tends to pick up among NU students once classes let out for Winter Break, said Patrick Landeck, lead sales associate.
“People come here for convenience, definitely, but I do think we have more options here than in their hometown,” Landeck said. “There’s Urban Outfitters and American Apparel everywhere, but there’s not that many Blicks.”
While some students buy NU apparel as holiday presents at Campus Gear, 1717 Sherman Ave., the ability to order items online allows students to procrastinate when it comes to holiday shopping, owner David Haghnaji said.
Christmas sales among university students played a much larger role in stores Haghnaji owned near universities such as Southern Illinois University, where students begin winter break later in December, he said.
Since NU classes wrap up earlier, Evanston residents and NU faculty and staff play a larger role in holiday sales compared to students, Haghnaji said.
“Students do shop here, but a month before Christmas not everyone is in the mood, especially the younger people,” Haghnaji said. “They wait until the last minute.”
