With droves of receipt-carrying, gift card-weilding, bargain-hunting shoppers, the day after Christmas has been long known to local retailers for its heavy store traffic. Revenues are typically strong, though not quite proportionate to the number of shoppers due to the abundance of gift returns and clearance sales. For this December 26, however, retailers are expecting unusually heavy traffic and revenues healthily surpassing the dredges of 2008.
According to Jim Matthews, manager of the Park City Boscovs, the 2009 calender is poised to boost the number of shoppers on December 26, which this year falls on a Saturday. It being the weekend, most area residents will be off work for the day and many will likely head out to local retail centers to redeem gift cerificates and make exchanges, Matthews said.
Furthermore, the Mathews noted, the snowstorm from last Saturday—usually the biggest commercial day of the year—is likely to push some shoppers into the weekend after Christmas.
In 2008, most retailers nationwide had overstocked their shelves, underestimating the new recession’s impact on holiday shopping. In the scramble to pull themselves out of the red, many of these vendors offered dramatically slashed prices on the day after Christmas. This year, however, businesses have kept close watch on the limited resources of their customers.
According to Bon-Ton spokeswoman Mary Kerr, “We recognized early that the consumer had pulled back on holiday shopping last year and began a diligent program to monitor inventory levels and expenses,” Kerr said, “It paid off with expenses being reduced year-to-date and less clearance. Having less clearance improves our profitability.”
Shoppers can still expect to find considerable clearance savings this year, however. According to Matthews winter-related items like sweaters and snow boots will be available at considerably reduced rates.
Rachel Gallagher, General Manager of Park City, told NewsLanc that traffic on December 26 can be “pretty close” to that of Black Friday; although, Gallagher noted, the day after Christmas never brings the same early morning lines of bargain-hunting shoppers.
Gallahger said that on Saturday the entire mall will open three hours early at 7 a.m.; Kohls and the Bon-Ton will open at 6 a.m., and JC Penny will open at 5 a.m.
