Business & Tech

POLL: What Kind of Holiday Shopper Are You?

Consumer trends, evident in a parking garage near you.

Christmas is over but shoppers are heading back to stores for two reasons, according to national media outlets.

Even before Christmas and Hanukkah, retailers saw a spike in returns.

In mid-December, one CEO told Time that this would be "a record year for returns."

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In fact, for every dollar spent, $0.099 will be returned to stores, according to the Associated Press.

But returning items isn't the only reason consumers are standing in lines after Christmas. Many are hitting shopping centers for post-holiday sales. 

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At the , stores are slashing prices; Ann Taylor and Coldwater Creek are giving customers 50 percent off storewide, and there's a 60 percent off special at Banana Republic, to name a few.

What are customers in the market for? Deals on clothes, furniture and appliances are getting post-holiday shoppers in the door, according to this article from Bloomberg.

At the Mall in Columbia, so many shoppers were out the day after Christmas that people were using social media to find relief.

@HowChowBlog tweeted on Dec. 26: "Avoid the @MallInColumbia in #HoCo. They're letting parking lots degenerate to gridlock. My wife has spent 30 minutes to go 100 feet."

On the mall's Facebook page, Kathy Owen Reed wrote around the same time: "Need mall security to clear out the nordstom parking snarl. Cant park or leave lot. This is a disaster."

Within 20 minutes, The Mall in Columbia responded on Facebook: "Hi Kathy - Thanks for the feedback. Our Public Safety Team is working to address the situation."

Looking to avoid parking garages?

Freestanding shopping centers have deals going on too.

Through Jan. 2, is having an "after Christmas Blitz," with 40–60 percent off, and the store in Ellicott City's Long Gate Shopping Center is no exception.

At Gateway Overlook in Elkridge, is continuing to draw customers by keeping extended hours through Jan. 7 and offering a "Deal of the Day," like a 55" TV at 40 percent off, through the end of the month.

Have you gone post-holiday shopping? Tell us in the comments, or take our poll.

There are four types of shoppers, according to a Dec. 27 article from the Associated Press: bargain hunter, midnight shopper, returner and the “me” shopper.


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