The life of a Christmas tree seller

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: The Life of a Christmas Tree Seller
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishore (in for David Brancaccio)
Featured Guest: June Hagen, Night Shift Tree Seller

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Episode Overview

This episode of Marketplace Morning Report dives into the lived experience of working the night shift at a New York City Christmas tree lot, exploring what motivates late-night shoppers, the unique challenges and rewards of the job, and the economic context surrounding the holiday season. The episode opens with a quick consumer spending update and a brief note on major business news, then spends the bulk of its content in a candid field interview with June Hagen, who sells Christmas trees overnight in Harlem.

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Key Discussion Points

1. State of Holiday Consumer Spending

• Flat Retail Sales:
  • October retail sales were "virtually unchanged from September, but it's still solid."
  • (00:54) Nancy Marshall Genzer notes, "People say they're worried about things like inflation and job security, but then they go out and spend."
• Top Holiday Sellers:
  • Furniture, home furnishings, sports/hobbies, books/music, clothing, electronics, and appliances are seeing healthy sales.
• Cutbacks:
  • "There was a sharp pullback in auto sales... spending was down at bars and restaurants." (01:42)
• Wealth Gap in Spending:
  • Higher-income consumers continue spending and traveling, with a Bank of America report showing a 2.5% increase in spending among affluent households, versus just 0.5% among lower-income shoppers.

2. Big Tech Business News

• Amazon & OpenAI Talks
  • Amazon in negotiations to invest at least $10 billion in OpenAI, potentially valuing OpenAI at over $500 billion and involving the use of Amazon's chips. (02:33)
  • Amazon stock up 1.8% premarket.

3. "What's That Like": Life as a Christmas Tree Seller

Setting the Scene

• The segment visits a Christmas tree stand in West Harlem, just after midnight, where these lots operate 24/7 to meet NYC's unique demand.
• Interview conducted with June Hagen, 28, on the night shift.

Tree Seller Realities

• Types of Trees:
  • "Right now we have balsam firs here on this front rack and on the back rack we've got Frasers." – June Hagen (05:01)
  • The ambiance: snow falling on Frasier firs looks "like you're in a crazy magical forest."
• Pricing Ambiguities:
  • "People come up to me all the time, like, how much are the trees? I'm like, would you walk onto a car lot and be like, how much is a car? Like, it really depends on what you're looking for." – June Hagen (05:20)

Why Sell Trees Overnight?

• NYC is a service industry town with many late-shift workers; thus, demand exists at all hours.
• "If they're getting off at 2 in the morning or 4 in the morning or 5, more than that, it's that we can't move this inventory. Someone's gotta be here to keep an eye on it, to keep things clean. And if someone's going to be here, we may as well be open." – June Hagen (05:41)

Routine and Challenges of the Night Shift

• Colder Nights:
  • Small "Santa's workshop" hut provides brief respite from winter cold but can't be used all night lest the worker falls asleep.
  • "Honestly ... it's a 12 hour, 14 hour shift sometimes ... if you spend your whole night in the cozy little box, you fall asleep and that's no bueno." – June Hagen (06:22)
• Endless Cleaning:
  • "You're just always sweeping. Pine needles never end. It's like if you think one Christmas tree in your living room is bad, having 200 is insane." – June Hagen (06:43)
• Safety:
  • June isn't particularly anxious about safety, being a native New Yorker and relying on a "night watch" group text thread for support in case of trouble.
  • "Obviously. Yeah, stuff happens and you know, you have to use your best judgment about how to deal with it. But ... we all have a group thread and if something's ever freaking me out, I just text." – June Hagen (06:57)

Living Arrangements

• The company provides an apartment for sellers: eight people, divided among bedrooms and couches.
  • "It's comfortable, it's clean. I mean, as clean as it's gonna be living with, you know, four dudes..." – June Hagen (07:20)

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Memorable Quotes

• On Pricing Trees:
  • “Would you walk onto a car lot and be like, how much is a car? Like, it really depends on what you're looking for.” – June Hagen (05:20)
• On Overnight Tree Sales:
  • "We can't move this inventory. Someone's gotta be here to keep an eye on it, to keep things clean. And if someone's going to be here, we may as well be open." – June Hagen (05:41)
• On Cleaning:
  • "Pine needles never end. It's like if you think one Christmas tree in your living room is bad, having 200 is insane." – June Hagen (06:43)
• On Community and Safety:
  • “We all have a group thread and if something's ever freaking me out, I just text the thread and be like, hey, what do I do in this situation?” – June Hagen (06:57)

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Notable Timestamps

• 00:54 – 02:30: Consumer spending discussion with Nancy Marshall Genzer
• 02:33 – 03:08: Amazon-OpenAI business headline
• 04:09 – 07:36: In-depth segment with June Hagen, night-shift Christmas tree seller

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Episode Tone

The episode blends Marketplace’s signature brisk, informative tone with a deeply human, lightly humorous look at the realities of working an unconventional holiday job. June’s voice is frank, witty, and relatable, painting a vivid picture of New York’s overnight economy and the people who keep its traditions alive.

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Summary Takeaways

• The holiday shopping season is steady, but with notable disparities between income groups.
• Side note: Big moves brewing in the tech sector as Amazon eyes a major OpenAI investment.
• The heart of the episode is an intimate snapshot of life on a frigid New York sidewalk, with stories of pine needle battles, midnight sales to city workers, and camaraderie among those who keep the Christmas spirit awake, even while most of the city sleeps.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishore]

Tree Seller from Marketplace, I'm Sabri Ben, ashore in for David Brancaccio. First, the holiday shopping season is in full swing. We got retail sales numbers yesterday from the Census Bureau and they were unexpectedly flat. Marketplaces Nancy Marshall Genzer joins us now live with a Consumer Pulse check. Hi, Nancy.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishore]

So these numbers were actually from October. So a little late, but lots of people had started their holiday shopping season by that point. So what does this report tell us?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Well, you know, it's true. Consumer spending barely budged in October. It was virtually unchanged from September, but it's still solid. People say they're worried about things like inflation and job security, but then they go out and spend.

[Sabri Benishore]

What are people spending on? What are the top six sellers this year?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Well, the most popular things right now are furniture, home furnishings, and that's closely followed by sports, hobbies, books and music. Clothing, electronics and appliance sales are also healthy. So you know, your typical holiday gifts.

[Sabri Benishore]

What are we skimping on? What are we cutting back on?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Well, you know, there was a sharp pullback in auto sales. This might be partially explained by the expiration of the tax credit for EVs. Also, spending was down at bars and restaurants. So, Sabri, when we're done shopping, we are going home and eating leftovers.

[Sabri Benishore]

We talk a lot about a K shaped economy. You know, where the wealthy are driving spending. Are we seeing that in this data?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Absolutely. The higher income consumers, they're still going out to eat. They're also traveling. So they're driving sales of big ticket items. A Bank of America report released earlier this month on card spending says higher income households in increased spending by about two and a half percent year over year. While lower income shoppers lagged behind, their spending was up just about a half percent.

[Sabri Benishore]

All right. Thank you so much, Nancy.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

You're welcome.

[Sabri Benishore]

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[Sabri Benishore]

Now to our recurring series on this show called what's that like where we meet people with jobs on off the Beaten Path Today, a festive take on this that brought us to a New York City Christmas tree lot. These pop up every holiday season. They're usually open 24 hours a day for New Yorkers to buy a Christmas tree at whatever hour they're free. On a brisk sub zero night. We visited one of these tree stands on a sidewalk in West Harlem just after midnight and that is where we met 28 year old June Hagen who works the night shift there.

[June Hagen]

Hi.

[Sabri Benishore]

Hi. So you're June.

[June Hagen]

I'm June.

[Sabri Benishore]

Hi.

[June Hagen]

Nice to meet you.

[Sabri Benishore]

I'm Sabri.

[June Hagen]

Sabri, good to meet you.

[Sabri Benishore]

We are here at Uptown Christmas trees from Gopher Broke Farm. And Gopher is spelled like the little animal. Yes, I see that you've got the Christmas lights up. It's very festive. You have a little Santa's workshop. Tell me about the trees you got.

[June Hagen]

Right now we have balsam firs here on this front rack and on the back rack we've got Frasers. It was snowing earlier and whenever you see a Frasier like in actual snow, it just looks like you're in a crazy magical forest. Somewhere.

[Sabri Benishore]

How much do these trees go for?

[June Hagen]

That's a really loaded question. People come up to me all the time, like, how much are the trees? I'm like, would you walk onto a car lot and be like, how much is a car? Like, it really depends on what you're looking for.

[Sabri Benishore]

You know, I should say it is 12:30, 12:45 in the morning right now. It's 28 degrees. Who is buying trees right now? Why do you gotta be here?

[June Hagen]

You know, New York is a service industry town. It's a town with a lot of people who work overnight and work late nights. And they're buying Christmas trees too. You know, if they're getting off at 2 in the morning or 4 in the morning or 5, more than that, it's that we can't move this inventory. Someone's gotta be here to keep an eye on it, to keep things clean. Clean. And if someone's going to be here, we may as well be open.

[Sabri Benishore]

So it is actually freezing. You do have a small sort of, as I see it's called Santa's workshop. A small sort of like hut that it's. It's warmer in there.

[June Hagen]

Yeah, it's cozy in there. If you want to step inside. Sure, go for it.

[Sabri Benishore]

Okay. This is actually a lot better.

[June Hagen]

Yeah, no, I. I spend a fair amount of time in here on nights like this, but honestly, you know, it's a 12 hour, 14 hour shift sometimes, so you get tired and if you spend your whole night in the cozy little box, you fall asleep and that's no bueno.

[Sabri Benishore]

Hour by hour, what does. You know, what does the night shift selling Christmas trees look like?

[June Hagen]

You're just always sweeping. Pine needles never end. It's like if you think one Christmas tree in your living room is bad, having 200 is insane.

[Sabri Benishore]

I was gonna ask if you ever worry about safety. I mean, it's. Cause it's just you out here.

[June Hagen]

I'm from New York. Like, this is really not so bad. Obviously. Yeah, stuff happens and you know, you have to use your best judgment about how to deal with it. But you know, there's a bunch of other night watch and we all have a group thread and if something's ever freaking me out, I just text the thread and be like, hey, what do I do in this situation?

[Sabri Benishore]

When do you sleep and where do you sleep?

[June Hagen]

So the company gets us an apartment. There's like eight of us there, so it's like four and four. There's a couple bedrooms, a couple couches. It's comfortable, it's clean. I mean, as clean as it's gonna be living with, you know, four dudes, but.

[Sabri Benishore]

June Hagen, night watch at Uptown Christmas Trees. Thank you so much for spending some time with us.

[June Hagen]

Thank you. Yeah.

[Sabri Benishore]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace morning Report. From apm, American Public Media.

[Marketplace Host]

As we head toward the end of the year, Marketplace is here to help you make sense of the economy, what's happening, why it matters, and how it affects you. If this reporting has been valuable to you in 2025, consider becoming a Marketplace investor. Your support powers independent journalism that cuts through the noise and delivers clarity when it counts. Donate [e-mail] or click the link in the show notes.