MADISON, Wis. — Just because Christmas is over, doesn’t mean holiday shopping is.
Dec. 26 marks the start of many post-holiday shopping deals and the rush to return presents.
According to The National Retail Federation, U.S. retailers are expecting about 17% of their sales to be returned during the winter holidays.
Felicia Greenwood, the manager of Fontana Sports, an outdoor lifestyle shop in downtown Madison, said by noon on Dec. 26, she had already processed a handful of customer returns and exchanges.
“We opened at 10 a.m. and we have had a stream of returns, mostly just the wrong sizes,” said Greenwood. “There have been more exchanges than actual returns.”
Just a few blocks away, Laura Komai is also right back to business after being off for Christmas. She owns Anthology, a paper and craft shop.
“This moment between Christmas Day and New Years Day for us is a little quieter,” said Komai.
For Anthology, the last two Saturdays before Christmas are the biggest days of the year, in terms of generating profit.
She said she sees the benefit of keeping the shop open on the days after Christmas, because there are a lot of out-of-towners visiting family, and locals getting out while on winter break.
She said it is a crucial time for her shop before things really slow down in January and February.
“January through March is just a quiet time, so that is when we have to do inventory and we have to get all of our tax stuff ready,” said Komai.