On the day after Christmas, the season of giving performs a quick flip into the season of returning, exchanging and bargain hunting.
"Everything is 50% off the sale prices," said Letha Hubbard during a trip to Hamilton Place mall Thursday morning. Hubbard, 44, and her daughter Jada Hubbard, 22, hit the mall when it opened at 9 a.m. to take advantage of the post-holiday sales. The women finished their morning toting several bags from Dillard's filled with bath towels along with some perfume and clothing.
"We didn't spend a lot of money on Christmas this year, so we decided to spend it after Christmas," Letha Hubbard said. "We've been to all of the stores, just about."
The day after Christmas - known internationally as Boxing Day - is the third-busiest shopping day of the year, behind the Friday after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, and the last Saturday before Christmas, or Super Saturday.
Hamilton Place was open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, keeping extended hours for one last day of holiday shopping before resuming a normal schedule.
Top shopping days
Nov. 29, 2019: Black FridayDec. 21, 2019: Super Saturday (Saturday before Christmas)Dec. 26, 2019: Day after Christmas, aka “Boxing Day” in some global regionsDec. 14, 2019: Two Saturdays before ChristmasNov. 30, 2019: Saturday after Black FridayDec. 22, 2019: Sunday before ChristmasDec. 23, 2019: Monday before ChristmasDec. 28, 2019: Saturday after ChristmasDec. 27, 2019: Friday after ChristmasDec. 7, 2019: First Saturday in DecemberSource: ShopperTrak
"The day after Christmas is usually pretty busy," said Stacey Keating, director of public relations and corporate communications for mall owner CBL Properties. "That's why we've opted to extend those hours."
From Nov. 1 to Dec. 25 this year, traffic counters indicate Hamilton Place had 1.24 million shoppers. The same period last year it drew 1.47 million shoppers, said Taylor Bostwick, marketing and communications director for the mall.
The crowds on Thursday surprised Stephen Terrell when he and his wife, Paula, came to Hamilton Place looking for bargains. "It's less crowded than I thought it would be," said Terrell, 64.
The two are planning a getaway to Panama and scored some supplies for that trip, said Paula Terrell, 66.
"We're planning a cruise in February, so I got a couple of summer things," she said. And they held off on some of their Christmas shopping in favor of better deals later, Stephen said.
"We bought things we usually don't get ourselves for Christmas because we know we'll get it after Christmas," he said.
But plenty of people got in early on the holiday shopping season - and many of them did it online. A record 190 million U.S. consumers shopped from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, an increase of 14% over last year's 166 million, according to the National Retail Federation.
Cyber Monday - the Monday after Black Friday - broke an e-commerce record as U.S. shoppers rang up $9.4 billion in online sales, according to numbers from Adobe.
As the holiday shopping season draws to a close, UPS predicts a record number of e-commerce returns will create one last wave of holiday traffic. UPS expects to process a record 1.9 million returns Jan. 2, 2020, up 26% from the prior year, and the seventh consecutive record for returns.
Contact Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow her on Twitter at @maryfortune.