PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the Cherry Hill Mall opened on Monday, the day after Christmas, there was a line of a few dozen people outside the Lush cosmetics and soap store for its once-a-year Boxing Day sale.
Jess Wasdyke of Little Egg Harbor was first in line. She waited for two hours until the store opened at 10 a.m. “Fifty percent off. Or, it’s buy one, get one. They’ve changed the policy a little bit, so it’s slashed in half.”
Shopper Melinda Williamson of Sewell said she buys enough bath products at the store to last almost the whole year. “For me it’s worth it,” she said, “because this is the only sale they have all year. And it’s kind of a family tradition now.”
On the day after Christmas, however, you’re just as likely to see someone carrying a bag into the mall as out. Joe Diaz of Egg Harbor Township wasn’t buying anything. He was returning a couple of shirts, including a Philadelphia Eagles shirt and a gift for his mother.
“People are coming to the mall to exchange — maybe make returns — but they also have gift cards that they probably received for Christmas that they’re going to want to spend. So it’s a busy day at the mall,” said Lisa Wolstromer, the Cherry Hill Mall’s senior marketing director.
Holiday sales rose 7.6% this year during the critical holiday shopping season, despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to a report from the Associated Press.
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By category, clothing rose 4.4%, while jewelry and electronics dipped roughly 5%. Online sales jumped 10.6% from a year ago and in-person spending rose 6.8%. Department stores registered a modest 1% increase over 2021.
“This holiday retail season looked different than years past,” Steve Sadove, the former CEO and chairman at Saks and a senior advisor for Mastercard, said in a prepared statement. “Retailers discounted heavily, but consumers diversified their holiday spending to accommodate rising prices and an appetite for experiences and festive gatherings post-pandemic.”
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity, and Americans have remained resilient ever since inflation first spiked almost 18 months ago. Cracks have begun to show, however, as higher prices for basic necessities take up an increasingly large share of everyone's take-home pay.
Signs at Cherry Hill Mall retailers advertised markdowns of 50%, 60% and 70%. Stores are cutting prices to make room for next season’s merchandise, Wolstromer said.
“They need to clear their inventory for — believe it or not, they’re probably going to be bringing in spring items pretty soon. So there will definitely be sales going on.”