Day after Christmas sales attract bargain hunters
Santa Claus is on his way back to the North Pole.
But that doesn't mean Christmas shopping season is over.
Throughout the area, stores were busy Sunday catering to the day-after shopping hangover by offering some sweet deals, often cutting prices in half.
Shoppers flocked to the Deer Park Town Center in Deer Park to take advantage.
At Silk ‘n Things, which specializes in home accessories and custom silk floral arrangements, holiday merchandise was 50 percent off. Store owner Rosemary Pickett said the lines were out the back door on Sunday morning.
“We don't have much left,” she said.
The day after Christmas is a key sales day for merchants.
“If you didn't have a good holiday season, you wouldn't be here the next year,” said Rosemary's husband, Al Pickett. “It's that important. We do the majority of our sales through the holiday.”
Pam Arrigo was among the customers at the store, buying holiday ornaments at sale prices.
“I always buy the ornaments for all of my nieces and nephews for next year,” she said. “I like to buy expensive ornaments, and they are half price after Christmas.”
Kelly Mincica of Wauconda also bought Christmas ornaments, and said she intended to hit some other stores, including The Gap, before heading with her 8-year-old daughter, Stella, to see “Gulliver's Travels.”
“We're just going to start walking around and see what draws us from the windows,” she said.
At Vera Bradley, which sells handbags and other women's accessories, customers browsed through items marked 40-percent off. The store's owner, Deb Morgan, was optimistic Sunday's heavy traffic foreshadowed a good 2011.
“I hope it's a great indication of what's going to happen next year,” she said.
Shoppers also packed Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee, more for the after Christmas sales than to return unwanted or broken gifts. Signs boasting sales of up to 75 percent off lined storefronts from Charlotte Russe to Macy's.
Alita Davis, tired after a couple hours of morning shopping, was pleased with purchases that rang up cheaper than normal. The Carpentersville resident wasn't returning anything, or getting belated gifts. The shopping Sunday was just for her.
“Things I've been wanting to get, I thought I'll wait until after Christmas because it'll be on sale,” Davis said.
JCPenney claimed its biggest after Christmas sale ever with store traffic to prove it. Store manager John McGowan said there were more people at the doors Sunday morning than the year before.
Macy's saw similar activity Sunday. Mary Jane Ring, a sales associate, said this year was quieter than last when it came to returns.
“Everyone seemed to be pleased and got what they wanted the first time,” Ring said.