RETURNS KEEP STORES BUSY

Thousands of shoppers returned to area retail stores Thursday, the day after Christmas, to exchange gifts or request refunds.

"It's a big merchandise-return day," said Bill Marra, manager at Kmart. "But it has also developed into a good sales day."

Shoppers were bargain hunting.

The entire week between Christmas and New Year's has developed into a bonanza for retailers and consumers.

You are going to have exchanges and refunds, said Rick Hessenkemper, manager of Venture in West Park Mall. "But people will also be looking for values," he said.

Some shoppers have gift certificates they received as gifts for Christmas.

Stores throughout the city were crowded on Christmas eve as last-minute shoppers filled their Christmas lists. But they were just as crowded Thursday. Parking lots at West Park Mall and Cape West Business Park were jammed, as was the Town Plaza Shopping Center lot. In downtown Cape Girardeau motorists continually circled the main shopping blocks hoping for a parking place.

Shoppers were waiting in line for the 7-a.m. opening at Target Thursday.

"We had a lengthy line," said Teri Jamison, a Target manager. "We had few returns Thursday morning; most of the people were buying."

Many major retailers and some small ones opened early Thursday and offered deep discounts to get shoppers in the buying mood again after a 24-hour respite.

"People were looking for bargains," said Phil Pearce, manager of K's Merchandise, a big retailer that opened in Cape Girardeau just two months before Christmas.

Some good prices were found on many items.

Newspapers that published morning editions were filled with store ads announcing discounts of from 25 to 70 percent on some clothing and Christmas merchandise. Discounts were also being offered on jewelry, electronics and toys.

Merchants are looking for a good week through New Year's.

"We were surprised with sales Sunday through Tuesday," said Pearce. "We were crowded the last three days before Christmas."

Pearce said K's Merchandise officials were pleased with their first Christmas in Cape Girardeau. "We exceeded expectations," he said.

Kmart also had outstanding holiday sales in Cape Girardeau. "Especially the final two days," said Marra. "We remained open until 8 p.m. Christmas eve, and we still had people in the store when we had to close the doors," he said.

Nationally, Kmart's holiday sales improved slightly over last year's.

Robert Burton, director of investor relations at Kmart Corp., told the Associated Press that Kmart had "modest improvements" but that "retailers had to work hard to get the gains they had."

Most major stores won't release their national Christmas sales figures until Jan. 2, but analysts estimated an increase of 4 to 6 percent over the dismal figures of 1994.

A National Retail Federation executive, Tracy Mullin, said the first week after Thanksgiving was spectacular. "But then things slowed down a bit," he said. "Retailers are hoping for some good sales figures before New Year's."