Retailers roll out after-Christmas sales
Armed with gift cards, outfits that don't fit and some unexpected Christmas cash, shoppers are heading back to the malls for yet another bout of holiday splurging.
The soaring popularity of gift cards has transformed the day after Christmas from an exchange- and return-heavy day into a day with many new sales, said Paul Kurzawa, chief operating officer of Caruso Affiliated, which owns the Grove and the Americana at Brand shopping centers.
"Now the day after Christmas is a lot more sales generated by people redeeming gift cards," he said. "We will see that trend for the rest of the year and the rest of January as people are still out on the holidays and kids are out of school."
Cecilia Aguilara, 18, of Hollywood probably will be part of the horde looking to score end-of-the-year deals. The college freshman said family members usually give her at least a couple of gift cards for Christmas, such as the Barnes & Noble and Old Navy ones she received last year.
"I think someone will give me a gift card," she said Monday. "Then I'll go to the mall to spend it on the day after or over the weekend when the sales are pretty good."
