North Jersey malls try to make holiday shopping less stressful

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Two popular North Jersey malls are trying to make shopping as easy as possible this holiday season.

The Mills at Jersey Gardens, one of the largest malls in the Tri-State area, is now offering a complimentary, hands-free shopping service that allows customers to buy bag-free at participating stores.

Powered by U.K.-based retail technology company Dropit, the service gives shoppers the option to have an unlimited amount of purchases delivered to their home or hotel or picked up from a kiosk before they leave the mall.

According to a spokesperson for the mall, Dropit delivers shoppers’ bags the next day.

The service, which will be available through Dec. 25 at Jersey Gardens, can be accessed via the Dropit app or requested by shoppers in-person at participating stores (Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Aerie, American Eagle, Bella Shoes, BOSS, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Accessories, Calvin Klein Clearance, Coach, Coach Men, Custom Tee’s, DJB Boutique, Express, G by Guess, Garage, Guess, Guess Accessories, Hollister, Hot Topic, Kidstown, Nautica, Papaya, Polo Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Kids, Portabella, QL Shop, Quiksilver, Skechers, The Cosmetics Company Store, Tommy Hilfiger and Tumi).

Although Dropit can be found at several other shopping centers across the U.S., including The Galleria in Houston, The Forum Shops in Las Vegas and Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, this marks the service’s debut in New Jersey.

Without shopping bags to lug around, Jersey Gardens hopes it will give mall-goers an opportunity to enjoy more on-site holiday experiences, such as taking pictures with Santa.

New Jersey’s second largest mall, Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, is hoping to reduce the stress of the season by giving shoppers the ability to Buy Now Pay Later (BNLP) for their holiday purchases at participating stores.

Thanks to a partnership with fintech firm Afterpay, the mall set up a special kiosk where customers can arrange to pay for items in a series of four interest-free installments and then be able take home their selected purchases right away.

The Afterpay holiday pop-up is also giving free gift-wrapping services to those who use Afterpay at Garden State. Additionally, shoppers who spend more than $100 in stores with Afterpay will qualify for $20 off their next in-store purchase through Jan. 15, 2023.

Participating stores include Aldo, Allbirds, American Eagle, Anthropologie, Aritzia, Aveda, Fabletics, Finish Line, Free People, J. Crew, LensCrafter, Lush, Madewell, Morphe, Nars, Nordstrom, PacSun, Pandora, Skechers, Soma, Steve Madden, Tillys, Ugg, Urban Outfitters and White House Black Market.

“The current climate demands a compassionate consumer perspective and we’re here to support that,” said Wesley Rebisz, the mall’s senior general manager. “Afterpay allows shoppers to leave with the items they love while also benefiting from paying over time.”

This offering comes as even more people plan to get their shopping done early this holiday season.

According to recent Afterpay research, more than 25% of consumers are planning to make their holiday purchases primarily in-store and nearly half are shopping early to ensure availability of the gifts they want to purchase.

Colin Shaughnessy, executive vice president, U.S. Leasing at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), parent company of Westfield Garden State Plaza, described Afterpay as “the ideal BNPL partner.”

He went on to say, “We [both] share a commitment to providing seamless and effective solutions to retailers that, in-turn, provide increased choice and flexibility for consumers.”