More people shop for after-Christmas bargains than return unwanted presents

BRISTOL, Va. – Lora Presley was among a crowd of shoppers at the Exit 7 Target who bypassed the store’s returns lane on Wednesday and headed for its back shelves where the store’s holiday merchandise was being sold at half price.

"We wrap a lot of gifts, and its a way to save money," said Presley, who helped her husband and two sons slowly fill a shopping cart with Christmas-themed wrapping paper on the day after Christmas.

Target Manager Greg McPeak said Christmas decorations and supplies were his store’s top selling items during its post-Christmas sale. He had to transfer some of his staff from the store’s returns section – where there was little activity on Wednesday – to keep the seasonal section stocked and perform other duties throughout the store.

"I’m just looking for some new ideas," said Margaret Conkin, who also spent Wednesday afternoon in the store’s holiday section where shopping cart traffic was bumper to bumper. "It looks like everyone else is doing the same."

Conkin said she buys most of her Christmas decorations during after-Christmas sales. She heard Target had a large inventory and decided to check out the 50 percent discounts for herself.

"As soon as Christmas ends, retailers are moving extra fast to discount holiday merchandise," said Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association.

Grannis said store owners offered the discounts on holiday decorations and other seasonal merchandise in order to clear shelves and make room for incoming spring items. The steep discounts were one of the reasons the International Council of Shopping Centers estimated one out of five Americans would head to the store Wednesday.

"People are returning to the stores to exchange gifts, take advantage of post-holiday sales and redeem gift cards," said ICSC spokeswoman Erin Hershkowitz, who expects the growing popularity of gift cards to extend the Christmas shopping season well into January.

McPeak said many of his store’s shoppers used a Target gift card when they were shopping during the post-Christmas sales. He said the prevalence of gift cards this holiday season may also be a reason for the minimal amount of customers who returned items to the store.

None-the-less, Tonia Totten had to return a cooling system she purchased for her husband’s X-Box game console.

"I am returning it because I don’t need it," Totten said as she joked with her husband about his decision to return the item although it was marked as a priority item on his Christmas wish list.

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