Shoppers line up for after-Christmas deals

Shoppers stopped at different shops with different agendas.

Packed parking lots, are just a small indicator of how stores are cashing in the day after Christmas. The National Retail Federation’s latest statistics show 47 percent of shoppers plan to buy items at brick-and-mortar outlets the week after Christmas, as to 43.1 percent who said they’ll do that online. While finding a television would be easy enough, Maldonado, of Poughkeepsie, figured that he had missed out on his best chance for a good deal on Black Friday.

The day after Christmas is second only to Black Friday as the busiest shopping day of the year.

Shoppers filled stores on Saturday, returning unwanted gifts, spending gift cards and shopping along the way. As for consumers who received gift cards, 19.7 percent said they’ll be happy to spend them immediately, while 41.9 percent said they would rather stick with the cards until they find an item or a deal they like. Sales manager Deleware Jefferson says the day after Christmas is the third busiest day of the year for them every year.

Today, more and more people are shopping online for their holiday gifts, which mean numerous returns will be taking place through the mail and that will throw off the traditional return process in stores this season.

Jefferson says they expect to be busy tomorrow as well, but not almost as busy as they were Saturday.

With some travel concerns around the valley, stores like Sears in West Acres Mall haven’t seen the rush they prepared for.