Christmas countdown drives record holiday shopping as retailers race to fulfill last-minute orders

SYKESVILLE, Md. — The final days before Christmas are here, and retailers across the country are working around the clock to meet unprecedented demand from last-minute shoppers.

Inside Walmart's online fulfillment center in Sykesville, the holiday rush is in full swing. Associates scan, sort and pack hundreds of online orders each day, all moving quickly through the fulfillment area before heading out the door.

"They pick the orders, we bring them up here, we stage them all. The ambient stuff goes over here," said Melissa Unger, market fulfillment lead.

That convenience becomes critical in the final days before the holiday. The facility processes between 450 to 500 orders daily during peak season.

According to the National Retail Federation, on Super Saturday — the final Saturday before Christmas — an estimated 157 million people plan to shop. That's about 15 million more shoppers than last year.

For workers like Erica Coley-Muir, a Walmart associate, the job carries special meaning during the holidays.

"These are going to go under somebody's Christmas tree eventually. Oh, it feels fantastic. Yes, I'm happy to help because, you know, you have customers who like afraid to drive. Like on the highways and stuff like that, so it's our privilege. It's our opportunity. It's everything that is good," Coley-Muir said.

Walmart says it can now deliver to about 95% of U.S. households within three hours or less. All of this comes as holiday spending across the board reaches record levels.

Industry experts expect holiday sales to top $1 trillion this year, with shoppers budgeting an average of nearly $900 for gifts and other seasonal items. As of early December, consumers had only completed about half of their holiday shopping, meaning plenty of carts are still filling up.

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