Stores try to limit number of gift returns

While expecting legions of shoppers Sunday, area retailers tried hard to keep Christmas gift returns to a minimum.

Though gift cards and in-store credit have become reliable methods of doing just that, the weather unexpectedly helped some retailers.

Heavy snowfall hurt sales by keeping shoppers away before Christmas, but that allowed better selections of after-Christmas merchandise than in previous years, said Phyllis White, senior department manager of J.C. Penney Co.

Employees could more easily encourage customers to exchange rather than return their items because of the better selection.

Plus, "we seem to have more customers with receipts this year," White said, due to consistent efforts by employees who offered gift receipts.

"Most people are buying today," said Sandy Doyle, assistant manager at J.C. Penney. "They're out here to find bargains."

And when they do exchange, it is usually to change the size or color of the clothing or product.

"Most people are happy with what they get," she said.

Which was generally the case for Best Buy, said Paul Miranda, home theater area manager.

However, "the dollar amount of returns is more than expected but traffic is not," he said, though the difference in numbers was not significant compared to last year.

The majority of returns were the result of an "unsatisfied public" who did not like the color, style or features of any given piece of merchandise, Miranda said.

Sales were still generated in exchanges that upgraded original purchases from cheaper models to more expensive models that customers were willing to pay the difference for.

Rogers Jewelers in Westfield Shoppingtown West Park in Cape Girardeau handles fewer returns than other retailers, because the buyers need to put more thought into jewelry, said manager Beth Boehm.

"It's a thought that comes from the heart," she said.

About 10 percent of merchandise is returned throughout the year, with only a slight increase following Christmas, Boehm said. Rogers Jewelers offers a wish list that allows shoppers to select their preferences so that buyers can have something to refer to, but that does not always get used.

"Sometimes we get exchanges because it was the same thing he bought her last year," Boehm said, laughing. "He knew he liked it because it looked familiar."

jmetelski@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 127