Shoppers pack stores day after Christmas
Kaitlin Jarvis, left, and Eddy Schaeffer, of Avella, shop at Washington Crown Center Mall Monday afternoon.
Lisa Coffland, at right, of Shadyside, Ohio, and her daughter, Macy, 16, shopped Monday at Tanger Outlets to return Christmas items and shop for after holiday sales.
Troy Scott of Zanesville, Ohio, shopped Monday afternoon at Tanger Outlet.
‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the stores, shoppers returned items and bought even more.
Barbara Heisele of Wheeling, W.Va., visited Tanger Outlets with her daughter and granddaughter, Tracie and Amber Antigo.
Amber Antigo was ready to spend gift cards she received as presents the day before.
“We’re just enjoying the weather and being together,” said Tracie Antigo, noting the warm temperatures – which climbed into the 60s Monday during the early afternoon – encouraged the group to venture to the outlets.
They are among many local and out-of-town shoppers who made the drive to area malls to shop for post-holiday sales, to return some of their unwanted or ill-fitting gifts in exchange for something else and to use gift cards.
At stores like Macy’s and Target, shoppers took advantage of year-end offers and promotions, including seasonal merchandise such as Christmas decorations and table settings that were marked down significantly.
Troy Scott of Zanesville, Ohio, strode through the outlets carrying several orange Nike bags.
“I didn’t have anything to return. I’m just shopping for sales,” Scott said.
Lisa Coffland of Shadyside, Ohio, and her daughter, Macy, 16, exchanged clothing items and hoped to find good deals.
“We’re returning a few things, mostly in exchange for different sizes, and of course we’re always looking for bargains,” said Lisa Coffland.
Washington Crown Center Mall was also filled with people.
Kaitlin Jarvis and Eddy Schaeffer of Avella browsed through meat and cheese gift boxes at the Hickory Farms kiosk.
“We’re going to visit family at the end of the week and we thought we might get some good deals today,” Jarvis said.
At Go! Calendars Games & Toys, employee Janet Chadwick said shoppers were taking advantage of the store’s 50 percent off everything sale. There were not as many returns as Chadwick had expected over the course of the day.
“There haven’t been a lot of returns, and everybody’s been pretty pleasant,” Chadwick said.
One bit of advice from store managers before shoppers head out to the store to make exchanges and returns: it’s important to know return policies vary dramatically, depending on the store.
GOBankingRates ranked return policies from 50 major retailers and stores, and topping the list of customer-friendly stores with easy return policies were Nordstrom, L.L.Bean, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, Zappos, Sephora, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and JCPenney.
“Knowing retailers’ return policies can pay off, especially around the holidays,” said GOBankingRates’ Cameron Huddleston. “You don’t want to purchase gifts from stores that will make it difficult for recipients to exchange them or get store credit. And you certainly don’t want to run into trouble getting a full refund if you end up overspending during the holidays and need to take a few things back.”