Christmas may be over, but the days following the holiday are filled with their own brand of anticipation for shoppers.
In the Fox Valley, thousands are flocking to area malls and shopping centers in search of post-holiday sales, as well as a chance to use gift cards or money they received for Christmas.
Friday morning in St. Charles, Michael Shake and his family from West Chicago were on a mission as they visited a Target store at 3885 E. Main St.
“We’re here so my daughter can spend her Christmas cash,” Shake said as he and his wife Jenna and daughter Ellie, 6, prepared to enter the store. “My daughter’s great-grandmother gave her some money. We’re just here for her.”
“I want a safety mask so I can play with my Nerf guns,” Ellie said.
Many retailers look at the week after Christmas as another busy time as shoppers head to the stores in search of whatever they didn’t get for Christmas or to find deals.
At Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Kristina Arias, senior director of marketing, said that after Christmas, “shopping shifts from urgency to choice.”
“There’s a pre-Christmas and a post-Christmas push,” Arias said. “They’re both similar, but really do the same in terms of getting rid of the inventory.
“Shoppers have more time and less pressure and, again, they want to feel confident in spending on what they actually want, especially post-holiday. Those deals make the purchases feel smarter and intentional,” Arias said.
It should be a busy time at the mall, according to Arias.
“The week after Christmas is super busy, one part because many people are still on vacation, but also because shoppers are being more thoughtful with their spending and taking advantage of the promotions and comparing options,” Arias said. “They really want to make purchases that make them feel like they’re getting a good value.”
Exchanges and gift cards, Arias said, “create a sense of flexibility for customers” as well as often making them spend even more money.
“I think that flexibility leads shoppers to browse longer. They trade up and make additional purchases while they are already here,” she said. “It does benefit the center and our retailers significantly. People will often throw in more of their own money to get something in addition to the gift card and it increases that perception of value.”
Bernie Saad of Bartlett was out shopping in St. Charles on Friday and said she and her family were “in search of Christmas lights and wrapping paper.”
“We already cashed out some gift cards at Menard’s before we got here,” Bernie’s husband William said. “I’m OK with this. The kids got some cash from relatives so that might be part of the day.”
Lenny Jaimes, manager at Michael Kors at Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora, said it has been an active shopping season this year and expects that to continue.
“As far as post-Christmas goes, I’ve been here almost three years and I know we’ll see more gift cards used but probably not a lot of returns,” Jaimes said. “People are still shopping for something they didn’t have time to get as well. Most that come in are using gift cards and some come to see if we have more stock than we did at the end of the days leading up to Christmas.”
Julie Anderson from Manhattan was at the outlet mall Friday morning and she had already exchanged a purse.
“I found what I wanted and I plan to stop at a few more places,” she said. “When I’m out like this I’m looking around for bargains mostly.”
Kenika Carter-Aldridge of Chicago came to Chicago Premium Outlets on Friday “because of the different stores and hopefully, lower prices.”
She admitted that, in terms of shopping, Friday’s mission was about getting something for herself.
“I prefer to wait until after Christmas in order to really see what I want as opposed to just getting something and being done,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
