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Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007
One More Time
Shoppers can't seem to get enough of Christmas, so they're still out there
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closeA cold wind blew across the Northern San Joaquin Valley on Wednesday, but it was big sales, gift cards and returns that appeared to push shoppers into stores.
Parking lots and shopping carts were full as shoppers loaded car trunks with newly bought wares the day after Christmas.
Retail stores hope consumers won't stop spending just because Christmas has passed.
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CHECK POLICIES, KNOW THE LAW
In addition to sales, gift cards and returns are among the most common reasons consumers head to stores after Christmas. Experts offer tips on how to make such transactions work best:
GIFT CARDS- Check the card's policies. While state law forbids most cards from expiring, other limits may apply.
- Know the law. After Jan. 1, you can redeem a card's balance for cash if it's less than $10.
- Cards that go unused for too long may require fees to reactivate. Know the policies that apply to your card, and ask at the store if you're not sure.
- Keep track of the balance.
RETURNS - Have a receipt. Many stores will allow exchanges without a receipt, but not refunds.
- Know a store's policies. Some brick-and-mortar stores will take back purchases made online, but ask.
- Keep all parts of the purchase. That includes not only the receipt, but the packaging and any parts or instructions.
- If the return is for an item you received as a gift, ask the person who gave it to you for a gift receipt.
- Don't wait forever. Some stores limit returns to within a month or two of purchase.
The International Council of Shopping Centers said Wednesday that same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year in the November- December period, appear to be coming in just below already slim projections for a 2.5 percent gain.
The council added that a post- Christmas buying bump could erase that shortfall.
Here are the stories of people out shopping for a variety of reasons Wednesday:
When Sarah Hamrick's parents shopped for her Christmas presents, they knew what she'd appreciate the most: a gift card to Borders Books and Music.
Hamrick, of Oakdale, used her $20 gift card the first day she could, buying three books and a 2008 calendar at the Borders store in Modesto.
"I bought a lot more than the card was worth," Hamrick said. "My parents know that I read a lot of books."
Retailers count on gift cards given as presents to stretch the holiday shopping season.
According to a study by Comdata Stored Value Solutions, the average gift card buyer spent $203 on cards this year, up $17 from 2006. And many did so because they'd be helping the recipient buy something they want.
That could mean a $50 item that's only $25 if the recipient uses a $25 gift card.
More than half of all people in the survey shop as Hamrick did: often or always spending more than the card's value.
According to the National Retail Federation, consumers were expected to spend $26.3 billion using gift cards this holiday season, up 42 percent from $18.5 billion in 2005. ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said that the week after Christmas accounts for about 16 percent of holiday sales.
As he waited to return a Krups coffee maker for the second time, James Johnson of Tracy said he could've been irritable for more reasons than a missing caffeine fix.
But Johnson, at the Bed Bath & Beyond store on Sisk Road in Modesto, said he wasn't, because the staff was being so helpful.
"I've never seen the line backed up here yet," Johnson said. "Even on Christmas Eve."
Johnson said the coffee maker was a gift he and his girlfriend, Lisa Palomino, bought for themselves earlier this month. The first coffee maker had a problem with its overflow, Johnson said; the second's pressure pump appeared to be flawed.
Still, because he had the receipt, he was able to get a third Krups model, and hoped for the best this time.
"They've bent over backwards here, no questions asked," Johnson said. "I've had these brewers for 10 years, and the only problem I've had before is wearing them out."
Some shoppers took the tack that it's never too soon to think about the next holiday or birthday -- or even next Christmas.
Debbie Brooks of Riverbank, shopping with her daughter Shaylyn, had a cart filled with white plastic bags from Modesto's Wal-Mart that bulged with wrapping paper, cosmetics and more -- future gifts, she said.
"I'm stocking up for the whole year," Debbie Brooks said, adding that Wal-Mart's half-off sale for some items, such as makeup, was too good to pass up.
Debbie said she originally hadn't intended to shop Wednesday, though she's hit post- holiday sales in other years. But with many people back at work, she figured the crowds would be manageable.
Long lines didn't deter sisters Lola Gabrielson of Ripon and Chris Razo of Vallejo.
They and their mother, Lupe Rincon of Modesto, also bought plenty at Wal-Mart, and planned to visit WinCo Foods, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.
But the excursion was about more than finding deals, Razo said.
"This is the first time I've been around them this Christmas," she said.
"We're enjoying our day as we're shopping," Gabrielson added. "And there's a lot of sales for things we can use."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bee staff writer Ben van der Meer can be reached at bvandermeer@modbee.com or 578-2331.
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