ROGERS — Marcia Graham couldn’t wait to get started. By 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Graham was already standing on the grounds of the Pinnacle Hills Promenade Mall, anxiously looking forward to another day of shopping.
“I was ready to go, but most of the stores didn’t open until 8 a.m.,” Graham said. “That’s the best time. Get in and get it done.”
Graham, of Garfield, and her husband make it a tradition to go shopping the day after Christmas. With local stores featuring big sales and plenty of holiday gifts needing to be returned or exchanged, shopping on Dec. 26 can often be just as busy as the holiday rush.
“We got our boys some gift cards,” said Tommy Jones of Bella Vista. “And people want to get out here and spend them.”
Not everybody felt the same way, though. With temperatures in the mid-20s for most of the morning and wind howling at more than 20 mph around the Scottsdale Center and Pinnacle Promenade, the early morning push to beat other shoppers to the punch might not have been what local shops have come to expect on the day after Christmas.
“I think (the weather) and this outside mall is affecting them,” Graham said. “They’re going to go to places like Fayetteville and an indoor mall instead to avoid the outdoors.”
Well, some of them.
By midmorning, the major malls were beginning to peak up with the usual after Christmas crowds. Stores such as Lids and Game Stop were filled with folks taking advantage of Christmas gift cards.
“I think maybe a lot of people come out to use gift cards,” Graham said. “Because you can buy a lot of things half off after Christmas, so it’s a good time.”
Store managers at national chains such as Dillard’s, JC Penney and Kohl’s weren’t able to comment on the shopping scene without their corporate office consent. Workers did indicate they felt past trends that showed shoppers the day after Christmas were split down the middle between those taking advantage of sales and those needing to make a return.
And while the weather might have prevented some from stepping inside the malls Saturday, others were attracted by unique sales this time of year. With the economy causing a hit to many local stores, Graham said she has noticed even more big sales Saturday than on most post Christmas days of past.
“This year, they put a lot of things on sale before Christmas,” Graham said. “Most shops had their after Christmas sales at 50 percent off even before Christmas. And today a lot of stuff is 75 percent off and you usually don’t see 75 percent off sales until the end of January.”