By LEAH NESTOR
The Exponent Telegram
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Even on the day after Christmas, holiday shopping has yet to die down.
CP Gifts employee Judy Eli said there were plenty of people checking for sales Tuesday at Meadowbrook Mall, and she expected an increase throughout the day.
(Exponent Telegram photo by Leah Nestor)
She said more people seem to be there to scope out the sales rather than return Christmas gifts. If she weren’t working, she said she would also be out shopping and checking for sales.
“We’re usually out the day after Christmas — shopping and looking at the toys,” she said, adding there are great deals, especially on Christmas decorations.
She said the crowds had not been too bad, but it wasn’t what she expected.
“I’m surprised at how not packed it is actually,” Michelle Tagliamonte said.
Tagliamonte and her sister, Terri Kress, brought their daughters to the mall for returns and exchanges. Tagliamonte said they only come out the day after Christmas if there is something they need to handle.
Kress said that although there were good deals, pretty much everything they were looking for was out of stock.
At a kiosk in the mall, Cassie Bragg was shopping for Christmas ornaments with her two daughters. None of them had any items to return, but Bragg said they had gift cards to use.
She said she came out to the mall not for anything specific, but to see the sales. Each year, she said she tries to participate in the traditional post-Christmas shopping sales.
Bragg also said her experience this year at the mall had been pretty decent, which is not typical when compared to years past.
“Usually, it’s crazy. But I think we got here early, so it wasn’t as bad,” she said.
However, at Target, customers were lined up outside the door before the store opened, said Josh Smallridge, who is the executive team lead of guest experience. A continuous stream of shoppers have filled the store since, he added.
The day after Christmas, there is an influx of people there to shop the holiday items on clearance, he said.
“On top of that, you get a lot of people who are just using their gift cards and their Christmas money to shop what we have,” he said.
He expects the holiday shopping season to die down after the first week in January.
“By that time, gift cards have all been spent, Christmas money has all been spent. That’s when things kind of return to normal around here,” Smallridge said.
See more from The Exponent Telegram and other WVNews papers
