In the city that never sleeps, the shopping never stops – particularly not in the last days of the run-up to Christmas, writes NOAH ROSENBERG
THE TOURISTS had long vacated Times Square, leaving the streets there and to the south nearly empty; even the halal food vendors on 34th Street had packed up their kebabs for the night. Yet there it was: the sound of Christmas carols emanating from outdoor speakers at Herald Square, an aural enticement for the faithful to come to shop, regardless of the hour.
In the hours before dawn on Thursday, it appeared business was as usual at Macy’s. Window shoppers were transfixed by the store’s scenes of miniature Christmas glee; New Yorkers just off the graveyard shift got in their holiday shopping without the holiday crowds.
Then there were the inebriated post-graduates, drawn by Macy’s new “24-hour” signs on its doors, strolling the store’s empty aisles. A few of New York City’s homeless took advantage, too, washing their faces at a skin-care kiosk. And some sales clerks, indulging in the emptiness, played dress-up in clothing that carried price tags normally out of reach of hourly workers.
And so the old adage of a sleepless New York was true after all, at least here and at a few other Midtown stores, where retailers are keeping their doors open through Christmas Eve – playing into, and perhaps fuelling, the never-say-close mentality of big-box-store America, at least for the holiday rush.
At 4am, Elaine Moody, a make-up artist at Macy’s, lifted her chin, beaming, as her colleague Antonio Rodriguez applied a flourish of blush to complement the satin-coloured eye shadow he had just painted on her with masterly care.
“I’ve watched his work for a long time,” Moody (42), said, giddily anticipating the lipstick and foundation that would come next, like a child waiting to tear open Christmas gifts. “And now I have a chance to come over and have him make me beautiful.”
They were hardly alone, on a night when, in Midtown, Old Navy and Toys “R” Us were also in the midst of continuing their own annual all-nighters leading up to Christmas.
Elina Kazan, a spokeswoman for Macy’s, said five of its New York City stores, and a total of 14 across the country, would remain open in an 83-hour push through 6pm today.
The round-the-clock holiday shopping at Macy’s began at a Queens location in 2006, she said, and was brought to Herald Square the next year. The demand for 24-hour stores has increased in recent years, Kazan said, underscoring the importance of what she called “omnichannel” consumerism.
“Shopping is entertainment,” she said. “When you come into a department store, it is the interaction, seeing the merchandise, seeing the people, seeing the energy. It’s a collective experience.”
But in the wee hours of Thursday morning, as holiday music streamed through Old Navy’s outdoor speakers on West 34th Street, to the bewilderment of a few sanitation workers and weary passersby, it often seemed as if the 24-hour experience was more collective for employees than for shoppers.
There were customers like Joanna Cruz and Elena Jimenez, who had clocked out of their Midtown security jobs at midnight and, until they finished their Christmas shopping at about 4:30am at Old Navy, relished having had all three of the area’s 24-hour retailers virtually to themselves. There were those like Alex Ortiz, who worked two jobs to make ends meet and said middle-of-the-night shopping at Macy’s afforded him quality time with his family when it really mattered.
But more common was the sight of employees like Jasmin King and Wilhemina Addo, gathered around a register in a dress department on an upper floor at Macy’s. They gossiped and they waited. And waited.
“I’m just on lunch right now,” King (25), said, glancing at the clock on her mobile phone, “eating a turkey sandwich at 2:55 in the morning”.
King and employees at other retailers admitted the slow traffic afforded them a chance to get to know their co-workers, but also to get ahead on work – fixing racks, folding sweaters, hanging overcoats.
Others said the late-night hours, which they had volunteered for would earn them a little extra pay, were draining, especially with the unremitting cheerful music.
“When this is all over, I’m going to take two sleeping pills and try to sleep for a day,” said Alex Garcia, who works at a Macy’s skin-care booth. “And then get up and eat” on Christmas Day, she added.
Upstairs, Brad Goldfond giggled as he pretended to fall asleep on a rack of men’s suits. He has been selling suits at Macy’s for two years. He chatted with a customer who could not seem to find the perfect navy blue overcoat.
“What person in their right mind wants to walk in here at 3 o’clock in the morning?” Goldfond (58), said. “Let’s be honest.” The customer, who said he had come “because it’s not Black Friday”, laughed in agreement.
Yet, there were Frances Arscott and her daughter Brianna at 4am, carrying armloads of clothes, stalking the aisles of Macy’s young women’s department before they headed home to St Albans in Queens.
Over at Toys “R” Us, where a police officer said it had been so quiet he “didn’t even know it was open 24 hours”, Shanee Forbes (28), said shopping solitude was just the point.
"It's a blessing," she said, both arms heavy with gifts as she emerged in the blinking lights of Broadway at about 5am. "You ever been in Times Square during the daytime?" – ( New York Times)