SYRACUSE -- Retailers hope last minute shoppers can help pump up sales for what is turning out to be one of the weakest holiday shopping seasons in years. Nationwide retailers are reporting a drop off in sales of up to twenty percent. Economists say a combination of shorter shopping season, bad weather and a tight credit market are all to blame for the sluggish sales.

Last minute shoppers out at Carousel Center Mall Wednesday night weren't letting the economy slow them down. Monica Bivens of Syracuse says last minute shopping on Christmas Eve is a family tradition. "It's all compulsion. Last minute and I do it all the time. I keep saying I would never do it again and here I am this year doing the same thing".