I, too, love shop hopping. I make a rule that I try to live by when shop hopping. I try not to buy too much. Some stores I force myself to buy a fat quarter. Others I absolutely love a design and purchase 5-6 yards assuming that I'll use it as a backing.
Where on earth do shops stay open until the wee hours of the morning. Where I live in NY, some will stay open as late as 8pm! Even during shop hops! What is the average number of stores that participate in your shop hops? Here it's a big one if there are 12 shops, and a small one if there are only 6.