Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Shoppers back out in force to return gifts, find deals

The post-Christmas rush was on Monday for area residents, including one man whose girlfriend got to pick out her own gift.

By PHIL DAVIS
Published December 27, 2005

PORT RICHEY - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 24-year-old Port Richey resident William Bryant both relied on last-minute drives to save the day on Christmas Eve.

The Bucs pulled it off with a 41-yard field goal in the final 15 seconds of overtime Saturday.

The clock ran out on Bryant.

His last-minute Christmas Eve rush to get his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Judge, a present was shut down.

"When I got back, everything was closed," Bryant said, with a sheepish grin.

"So this is my Christmas shopping," added Judge, giving her boyfriend an affectionate squeeze at Gulf View Square Mall in Port Richey on Monday. "He felt so bad, and I was like, "Don't worry about it. We'll get up Monday and go out,"' said Judge, who picked her own gift, a leather purse, at JCPenney on Monday. "Normally, I wouldn't fight the crowds."

Shoppers were back out in force Monday. Lines were long. Parking lots were full.

"My son-in-law called from Gainesville and said, "Nobody's out, it's dead,"' said Gena Massicotte, who came to Best Buy in Port Richey to return a DVD recorder. "So we came and we had to park way out there. Everyone is here."

While holiday shopping is all about others, Dec. 26 shoppers tended to focus on themselves.

They stood in lines to return unwanted gifts: the not-so-exciting pinball game for PlayStation Portable or the Friends DVD set intended for the now ex-girlfriend. Cashiers at JCPenney were surrounded by mounds of returned clothes.

They came for sales. Or last-minute Hanukkah gifts. The eight-day Jewish festival of lights began on Dec. 25 this year, slightly extending the holiday shopping season.

Shoppers also burned off the balances on a record number of gift cards.

The National Retail Federation estimates consumers spent a record $18-billion on gift cards this holiday season, about 6 percent more than last year. That estimate doesn't include last-minute sales.

Retailers aren't allowed to count the sale until the money is spent; and cards were available even on Christmas Day at some grocery stores.

"I know from experience," said Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation. "It all kind of creates the retail perfect storm."

Krugman said early estimates project $43.5-billion in holiday sales this year, a 6 percent increase over 2004. The official season ends this week.

"It's tracking very strong," Krugman said. "We feel very optimistic about this season."

Some shoppers weren't thrilled with the sales.

"I expected more to be on sale," New Port Richey resident Mike Syson said as he piled about $1,400 worth of computer equipment into his pickup truck. He came to Best Buy on Monday hoping for a deal.

So, how much did his computer cost before the holiday?

"$1,400," Syson shrugged.

"$995," joked his wife, Randi.

Randi was eager to get home and see the latest Hubble Space Telescope images on videos on her new flat screen monitor.

"We got everyone else presents," Mike Syson said. "We just figured it was time to take care of ourselves."

[Last modified December 27, 2005, 02:30:20]