11th-Hour Holiday Shopping Deals

Procrastinators, rejoice -- this holiday shopping season, those who wait until the 11th hour can walk away with some serious deals.

“This is the last gasp for retailers,” says Deborah Mitchell, a marketing professor and the associate dean of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Business. “If it’s still there Christmas Eve, it’ll be marked way down, to rock-bottom prices.” Typically, about a quarter of shoppers still have some shopping to do on Dec. 24, she says. The Christmas Eve shopping rush may be even more crowded than usual this year as procrastinators and deal-focused shoppers alike head to the mall.

If you plan to join the throngs, be cautious that the swiftly approaching shopping deadline and rapidly emptying store shelves don’t cause you to overspend. “There’s a tendency to not stick to your budget because you’re rushing,” says Lucy Duni, a spokeswoman for TrueCredit.com, a financial education site from credit bureau TransUnion. Hit the stores with a few budget-appropriate gift ideas in mind for each recipient so you don’t just grab the first thing you spot without regard to price. (For more last-minute shopping trip planning tips, click here.)

Don't feel like braving the mall parking lots or the cold, for that matter? Even though shipping deadlines for web orders have long-since passed, you can still find last-minute gifts online. Gift certificates, magazine subscriptions and concert tickets are all valid options (you can email or print them out and don't have to worry about delivery times) -- or you could always make a charitable donation in someone else’s name.

Below are some of the stores -- both at the mall and online -- where last-minute shoppers can still snag some sizeable deals:

Shoppers don’t have to wait until Dec. 26th this year to start taking advantage of post-holiday sales, says Dan de Grandpre, founder of DealNews.com. “You’ll get the pick of the inventory,” he says. Here's a sampling of what you can expect:

Discounts won’t just be found at the mall. Now online shoppers can even get gift certificates for well below face value using online codes from coupon sites and credit card issuers.

Just keep in mind that virtual delivery doesn’t always mean instant delivery. Sephora, for example, has a Christmas Eve deadline of 4 p.m. Pacific time if you want to order an electronic gift certificate in time for Christmas. (Later orders will be delivered Dec. 26.) Wal-Mart (WMT) waits on credit card approval, which could take more than a day.

Here are some sites that are offering last-minute gifts for less: