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Local Shoppers Hunt For Post-Christmas Deals

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Christmas may be over, but shoppers seemed to have not given up the buying bug.

"Just doing that extra shopping today, trying to get the good deals," says Amber Boyer of Green Tree, out shopping at the Mall at Robinson. "Brought my family with me who are out-of-town."

Boyer, with her mom and brother, were pretty typical, taking advantage of sales on clothes. They are certainly not alone.

Even three-year old Madilyn Seeley of Crafton caught the bug.

"I want to go shopping with my mommy."

Madilyn with her mom, Jessica, were out at the mall looking at hats, and Madilyn has words the retailers love to hear.

"Do you spend money?" KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano asked her.

"Yeah, I spend a lot of money for this hat."

Spending money is what retailers hope all of us will do during this final week of the holiday season.

Experts say that nearly half of Americans will shop between Christmas and New Years, which is why nearly 15 percent of holiday revenue is made during this week alone.

The Morrisons of Moon always shop after Christmas.

"I shop now for next year and have the cupboard loaded by next year, and then I forget what I bought, forget where I put it, but it's fun," adds Peggy Morrison.

One concern is dwindling inventory. Fearing the worst, stores did cut back on supplies.

"A lot of slim pickings," notes Boyer. "A lot of picked over, looking for that large and there's only the extra smalls that are left."

And while the stores promote their 30, 40, 60, and 75 percent sales reductions, some customers are holding out for more before they spend their dollars.

"Probably a little bit more cuts, a little bit more price drop," hopes Brenda Brown of the West Side.
So are the sales prices all that great?

Shoppers like Laura Berger of Cheswick hope so.

"I'm just getting started. I haven't seen evidence of it yet. I'm hoping crossing my fingers that there will be lots of sales."

The stores are trumpeting price reductions to lure customers into their stores -- and it seems to be working, as even Brown admits, "I try to get out with the family, do a little bit of shopping, a little bit of running around, see what good sales are going on in the mall today."

It's hard to go anywhere in these malls without seeing lots and lots and lots of sales signs. But some really wonder if the sales are any better now than they were before Christmas.

"Have you found some good deals?" Jon Delano asked Boyer.

"Some, yeah. Some of them you've seen prior to the holidays but there still out there."

"There didn't seem to be that many sales as much as years in past, and they kind of are same in line as before and after," says Matt Mihelcic of Kennedy.

But not everyone agrees.

"They seem better this year, maybe because of all the economic strain and everything. But everything seems to be 40 percent off a lot longer than last year," says Jessica Seeley.

"Last year it was like the day after Christmas and then everything's back to normal. This year, you keep going out and there's better and better sales," adds Seeley.

It really depends on where you look and what you're looking for.

At 77 Kids, American Eagle's children's store, the prices -- good on some items like hoodies before Christmas -- haven't changed much.

"They've gone down a little bit, a little further than from before, but they're pretty much the same," says Kara Malyszka, store manager at 77 Kids.

But at Yankee Candle, sales are much better after Christmas than before.

"By far the best of year, we have people that wait for this sale all year long," says Dave Monaco, store manager. "We have stuff that's marked down by as far as 75 percent off."

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