Christmas is over, but the pursuit of post-Christmas bargains and the dash to exchange unwanted gifts will likely keep Grand Forks stores busy after the lights and decorations are packed away for another year.
About one-quarter of Americans planned to shop late in the holiday season to get the best deals, according to Deloitte's 2011 Annual Holiday Survey conducted in October.
Bill Reid, general manager of Columbia Mall, said there's been an "evolution of the business" over the past decade. The day after Christmas is still a busy shopping day, but not necessarily any busier than the other final days of the holiday shopping season.
"Over the years, there is no rush to come back in to either do the returns or take care of other purchases," he said. "The season simply tends to get spread over a longer period of time."
Less rush
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Reid said the Columbia Mall will open earlier than normal today to accommodate the extra shoppers, and many stores will feature new sales after the Christmas weekend.
"It's just that there is a lesser amount of rush," he said.
Manager Wayne Peterson said Home of Economy expects to see a busier than normal shopping day. But the store had clearance sales over the past few days to clear out the bulk of its holiday products, he said
And Peterson said many customers will likely wait until Home of Economy's annual New Year's sale to get new bargains.
"It's perhaps not as busy as it was years ago, but it still is a pretty busy day for us as far as people coming in for returns," he said. "It's a little more spread out."
Waiting for deals
The 2011 holiday shopping season began with a bang in late November, when 226 million Americans visited stores and snatched up sales online over Black Friday weekend. A National Retail Federation survey found the shoppers spent an average of about $400 each, adding up to a record total of $52.4 billion in sales.
Still, Deloitte's annual survey conducted in October showed Americans planned to buy fewer gifts and spend less than last year because of the sluggish economy and concerns about personal finances.
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That means many shoppers planned to wait for deals, search online for better prices and, in some cases, wait until after Christmas to get the best bargains on their holiday shopping.
One-third of the more than 5,000 respondents to the Deloitte survey said they would wait to shop until December, while 6 percent planned to do the bulk of their shopping in January.
A survey of consumers commissioned by the National Retail Federation found that as Dec. 18, about 9 percent of Americans had not even started their holiday shopping.
Johnson reports on local business. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send email to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
