SHOPPERS OUT IN FULL FORCE

Thousands of area shoppers and their families are expected to return to retail establishments on Tuesday, the day after Christmas.

"It's a big merchandise-return day," said Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney in West Park Mall. "But it has developed into a good sales day, too."

Consumers will be bargain hunting.

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

"You're going to have exchanges and refunds," said Rediger. "But people will be looking for values."

Some will have additional dollars as gifts for Christmas.

Stores throughout the city were crowded Saturday. They are expected to be swamped again today, as many retailers will be open until 6 p.m.

"With Christmas on a Monday this year, we've realized an extra day of selling," said Rediger. "We were open until 11 p.m. Saturday and we'll be open until 6 p.m. today."

A year ago, with Christmas on Sunday, retail stores shut down at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"I think we'll see a lot of last-minute shoppers today," said Rediger. "We had long hours Saturday."

Stores in West Park Mall were open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.Saturday.

Jim Govro agreed.

"Tuesday will be another big day," said Govro, manager of West Park Mall. "With it being a big exchange day, we would urge customers to allow a little extra time."

Most Merchants in the mall will have special return tables set up, said Govro, but it could still be time consuming.

"And we're looking for a good week between Christmas and New Year's," said Govro. "A lot of gift certificates were sold prior to Christmas, and people will be turning these in throughout the week."

Parking spaces were at a premium Saturday as last-minute holiday sales attracted shoppers. Parking lots were crammed to the outer roads and motorists spent several minutes canvassing the rows of parked cars, hoping to spot an available space closer to front entrances.

"We were packed Saturday," said Govro. "Our parking lot was about 95 percent full at any time during the day."

In downtown Cape Girardeau, motorists continually circled the main shopping blocks, seeking a parking spot.

Many stores kicked off end-of-the-year clearance sales on Saturday that serve to reduce inventory for the retailers as much as they do to save consumers money.

Christmas decorations, artificial trees, wrapping paper, angels and a barrage of other leftover holiday trimmings were marked down from their pre-Christmas prices.

"Hey, I buy for next year," said one shopper as she carted a bounty of tree-trimmings and wrapping paper to the checkout lanes. "I'll probably be back next week after Christmas."

Although retailers in many parts of the nation are not expecting record-setting sales this year, one national survey indicated that two-thirds of Americans plan to spend about the same on Christmas gifts this year as last. Nationally, retailers are betting on the Christmas sales to help turn around what has been a disappointing year.

Cape Girardeau sales are up over most communities in the Midwest, Govro said, and local merchants are looking to better years than their counterparts in other areas.