Perry Hall resident Betty Forwood flipped through clothes on a rack in the ladies section of Boscov?s at White Marsh Mall on Thursday afternoon, looking for a deal.
Like many other shoppers, she had received a gift card to the store, which she said is one of her favorites. After a busy holiday season, Forwood said she was ready to do some shopping for herself.
“This is the best time,” she said. “They have a lot of good sales, and they?ll be bringing the next season out. They?re trying to clear out their stock.”
Across the Baltimore area, shoppers this week have flooded malls and stores with gift cards and items to be returned. It?s a weeklong boost retailers hope will help lagging sales this season.
“This week could be significant, with all the gift cards,” said Tom Saquella, president of the Maryland Retailers Association. “When they?re sold, they?re not recorded as sales. Retailers like people to cash those cards in quick; we don?t want to carry that liability, and we want to move merchandise.”
Saquella said his organization had projected a 2 percent increase in sales this year but now expected either no gain or a lower increase. Final figures for the Christmas season will be available next week, he said.
At Towson Town Center, assistant general manager Samantha Harris said traffic had been steady in the two days after Christmas, and was possibly spread out more than usual due to the longer week off from work for many shoppers.
Harris said the mall?s department stores had been particularly busy.
“Typically the after-Christmas sales will happen now, but we saw a lot of price breaks before Christmas,” she said. “So the deals out there now are particularly good.”
Saquella said the more modest traffic at malls like Towson Town may also be due to a shift toward gift cards and away from guessing what a loved one might like.
“You don?t get as many returns as you used to,” he said. “[Wednesday] used tobe the day from hell for retailers, but it?s not that way anymore. Gift cards have changed it.”
Fast facts
» Total spending, seven days following Christmas: $60 billion
» Percentage of total holiday spending: 12.6 percent
» Gift-card related spending, estimated: $26.3 billion
Source: National Retail Federation
