Convenience

When Is The Best Time To Hit The Mall?

The Queens Center Mall gets decked out for the holidays. Tribune photo by Ira Cohen

By Liz Skalka

The holiday shopping season is upon us, which means long lines at stores, crowded parking lots, heavy shopping bags and an even heavier burden on your wallet.

Is there any way to avoid all this madness? Experts from two of Queens’ malls weigh in to help ease your holiday shopping burden.

The Shops at Atlas Park _________

80-00 Cooper Ave. at 80th Street, Glendale

Nearly 50 shops featuring Amish Market, Gymboree, California Pizza Kitchen, Joseph A. Bank, White House/Black Market.

When is the best time to shop at Atlas Park? Both Jim Boyle, general manager for The Shops at Atlas Park, and Elka Shapiro, marketing director, agree that weekday mornings are the best time to hit up Atlas Park. “Come early,” Shapiro advised. This is when it’s least crowded and the most parking is available.

What about parking at Atlas Park? Atlas Park offers convenience parking for its customers located near the entrance of the shops. Both Boyle and Shapiro said the best time to score a spot in this section is in the morning. The first 15 minutes are free, with each half hour costing $3. “If you can get your shopping done in 15 minutes it’s free,” Boyle pointed out.

Boyle and Shapiro noted convenience parking is best if you have only one or two stores you plan to shop at, or if you’re picking something up from the shops. They also said convenience parking tends to go quickly on weekends, so get there early or shop on weekdays.

The shops also have two new parking structures that cost $3 for the first six hours. “You can have a meal and do your shopping,” Boyle said. “You can get a lot done in six hours.”

What does Atlas Park have that makes shopping easier for the consumer? The shops have a hospitality center that sells gift cards for every vendor at Atlas Park. There’s also a movie theatre at Atlas Park that can occupy family members who aren’t as enthusiastic about shopping while others visit the shops.

When can you get the best deals for the holidays? “It used to be that you never really saw things go on sale until after Christmas,” Boyle said. “Now there’s sales going on all the time.”

Boyle added, “My advice to shoppers is shop early, shop late.” Most retailers will actually mark items down before Christmas, he said, and the earlier you shop during this time, the better selection you will get. Don’t wait until days before Christmas to get your shopping done. After the holidays is a great time to buy holiday-themed items on sale for next year’s celebrations.

Any additional tips for shoppers? Boyle and Shapiro pointed out that many of the stores at Atlas Park are geared toward gift giving. They offer huge selections of kitchen gadgets and gourmet gifts. One store, Blue Tulip, sells gifts as well as gift wraps. “You don’t always see a big selection of that sort of stuff in the mall,” Boyle noted.

Queens Center Mall _____________

90-15 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst

Nearly 70 stores including Macy’s and JC Penney.

When’s the best time to shop at Queens Center Mall? Dawn Simon, marketing director for Queens Center Mall, said the best time to go shopping there is at 10 a.m. when the mall opens. “That’s when you have the best opportunity to pick fresh merchandise,” she said, “and be able to meet the store owners when they first open and to talk to them and find out if they have sales or discounts.”

Simon also pointed out that beginning Dec. 20 the mall will be open for 24 hours to offer customers more time to shop before Christmas. “There are some people whose work schedules permit them to shop in the middle of the night,” Simon noted.

What about parking at Queens Center Mall? Queens Center Mall has two parking garages at the Macy’s and JC Penney wings of the mall. Parking starts at around $3. It’s best to arrive to the mall early so you can park as close to the entrances as possible.

What does Queens Center Mall have that makes shopping easier for the consumer? A guest services kiosk located on the second level offers coupons for stores participating in that program.

When can you get the best deals for the holidays? For the holiday season, Simon said the best time to get bargains is on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving. On that Friday the mall will open at 5 a.m. “The major sales begin then and continue throughout the holiday season,” she said.

The Shops At Atlas Park are best visited early in the day. photo by Ira Cohen

Any additional tips for shoppers? Simon had several tips for holiday shoppers:

Plan ahead: Make lists before going shopping of the places you want to go, how much you’re willing to spend and when the best time is for you to shop. Planning ahead will save you time and money. “There’s no reason to spend more than you comfortably can,” Simon said.

Comparison shop: Investigate online or by visiting different stores so you can find the best deals.

Use a debit card instead of your credit card: Then “you can only spend what you have and you can keep within your budget by keeping costs under control.”

Gift cards make great gifts: They can be purchased at Queens Center Mall.

Leave the kids home: “Leave your children home because you have the ease and convenience of moving around much quicker,” Simon said. “And if you do bring the children, get them engaged in the process.”

Keep your shopping to one day: This will also save you time and money.

A Final Note ___________________

One last word of advice regards driving near Queens Center Mall around the holidays. If the mall is your destination, and you are going to need a vehicle to help get your holiday gifts home, by all means you should drive and park in one of the mall’s many lots.

But if your route home takes you to anywhere between Maurice Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard along the Long Island Expressway, it may be best to use the Maurice Avenue exits and use side streets to get home rather than the side road of the LIE, which can get heavily jammed around the holidays.