Returns lure consumers back to battered retailers in post-Christmas haste

Ashley Hutchins stood in line clasping three video games, waiting to return the well-intentioned, but ill-received, gifts.

With her brother Jeremy Hutchins, 21, stationed in Fort Lee, Va., it's understandable how his 20-year-old sister would buy a game from Best Buy that's already a part of his massive library. On Friday, Jeremy - who was home for the holidays - was browsing the aisles for a replacement while she waited in line.

"We kind of figured he didn't want it, but we bought it anyways," the McAllen native said as she approached the return counter at the Best Buy at 8012 N. 10th St. "Oh ... he's out shopping and he makes me wait in line."

Hutchins, along with dozens of other shoppers, flocked to area stores Friday to spend gift cards and unload unwanted Christmas presents. Some simply didn't like their gifts. Others received broken ones.

Behind Hutchins, 47-year-old William Aguillon held a broken Guitar Hero III. When his 20-year-old daughter Erin Aguillon unwrapped the present Christmas morning, they quickly discovered it didn't work - much to her disappointment.

"We're just here for this," the Mercedes-native said as he stood next to his 15-year-old son Eric. "We're leaving. We're tired of shopping."

The day after Christmas - officially Boxer Day - is unofficially a big day for retail stores with returns and gift-card purchases. It's also when retailers begin dropping prices, again, to shed excessive inventory.

Retail sales have been battered this year by the ailing economy and some analysts predict this could be the worst Christmas shopping season in some time. Fewer people are shopping this year and they're spending even less, making a post-Christmas bounce unlikely.

Sales fell by double digits in nearly all spending categories this year, according to SpendingPulse, a report by MasterCard that estimates retail sales.

Compared to a year ago, sales fell by 5.5 percent this November and 8 percent for this December through Christmas Eve, according to the report.

Sales at Learning Express near the intersection of Trenton Road and North 10th Street were miserable earlier this season, owner Jessica Galloso said. She and her husband monitored their sales closely, just hoping they would somehow recover. In the last few weeks, they did.

"We were very pleasantly surprised," Galloso said. "We ended up a little better than last year."

Back at Best Buy, 24-year-old Adam Pearson waited to return a videogame for a game system that he doesn't own. His cousin bought him the game, and lucky for him, he didn't have to feign excitement when he opened it.
"He wasn't here; he mailed it," Pearson said. "No pretending was necessary."

Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.