Holiday Shoppers Turn Out To Hunt For Deals, Return Unwanted Gifts

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minnesota shoppers got busy the day after Christmas.

The Rosedale Center in Roseville was crowded with people Saturday, some hunting for deals and others returning unwanted gifts.

“I was amazed at how many people were here,” said Sam Moore, a shopper from Minneapolis. “We almost turned around and went back out actually.”

Moore wanted to exchange some clothes she bought for her daughter, but the store didn’t have the right sizes. She noted online shopping doesn’t have that same problem.

Some big box stores are making it easier this holiday season to take care of returns. Walmart and Target shoppers can leave unwanted gifts at FedEx or UPS dropoff sites. Best Buy and others are offering curbside returns.

These appear to be safety efforts to keep people from crowding inside the stores.

“I appreciate that, especially in a year like this,” said Mary Jacobs, a shopper from Shoreview. “It’s just such an odd year with shopping and trying to make it as normal as we can.”

At Rosedale, people noticed their fellow shoppers doing their best for the most part by cooperating with the signs to mask up and using the readily available hand sanitizer.

“I think sometimes people just need to get out of their houses,” Jacobs said.

Retail experts predict gift returns will be dramatically higher this year compared to years past. They’re expecting $70.5 billion worth of returns and predicting most of those will be from online purchases.

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