Many happy returns

Jade and mom Lori Twombly of Springfield return a gift that the mom bought in the wrong size for her daughter at the Diamond Run Mall in Rutland on Monday.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20111227/NEWS01/712279925

Many happy returns


Jade and mom Lori Twombly return a gift that the mom bought the wrong size for her daughter at the Diamond Run Mall on Monday.

Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo


By Brent Curtis
STAFF WRITER - Published: December 27, 2011

Everyone got what they wanted the day after Christmas at the Diamond Run Mall in Rutland Town.

Quicker than you can say “return and exchange” the mall aisles filled with shoppers who didn’t get exactly what they wanted from Santa on Christmas Day.

“My mom got me a pullover that was the wrong size,” 25-year-old Emma Phillips said. “But I didn’t give her a hard time about it.”

Phillips, of Winstead, Conn., walked into the mall holding the shirt that she planned to exchange. But retailers were hoping she’d walk out with more than a pullover that fit.

The day after Christmas is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year, placing second only to “Black Friday” sales on the day after Thanksgiving.

Much of the consumer frenzy has to do with the big sales held on Boxing Day — sales that Phillips came prepared to take advantage of with gift cards she received under the Christmas tree.

Jade Twombly and her mother had the same idea.

The 13-year-old Springfield teen was returning a pair of boots and a jacket that were the wrong size. As with Phillips, Twombly said the gifts came from her mom. But Lori Twombly said in her defense that she did everything she could to pick the right sizes.

“I had a girl at the store try them on and she was the same size,” Lori Twombly said.

After driving an hour to get to the mall, mother and daughter planned on doing a little shopping while they were there.

Retailers at the mall said they were confident they would sell more than they received Monday.

“You’re going to have exchanges and returns but the idea is to have people walk out with multiple items,” said Courtney Over, the store manager at Maurices clothing store.

With sales of up to 50 percent off at some stores, including Over’s, there was plenty of enticement to shop.

“The sales are so inexpensive right now,” Old Navy manager Chris Champine said. “Prices are less than they were before Christmas.”

Sales numbers for the holiday season in Vermont aren’t yet available. But Tasha Wallis, executive director of the Vermont Retail Association, said what she’s heard during the last month augurs well.

“Black Friday was great for people this year and just from checking in with people during the month they seemed happy,” Wallis said Monday.

Boxing Day has proven important to retailers in the past as a way to quickly sell excess inventory stockpiled during the holiday season. But since the recession began, most retailers have been more cautious about their orders, she said.

“I think people have been a lot smarter about their inventories,” she said.