New York

Christmas is over, but holiday shopping is still in full swing.

The final days of December, traditionally a slow period used by US retailers to purge outdated inventory, is generating so much traffic and sales that some chains are calling it the “13th Month” or the “Second Season”. It is a recognition of the swarms of consumers who are flooding back into shops and websites on a rising tide of returns, exchanges and gift cards.

The day after Christmas was most likely the fourth-busiest shopping day of the season this year, behind Black Friday and the two Saturdays before the holiday, according to Shoppertrak. The Saturday after Christmas is expected to be the ninth-busiest day.

Five years ago, only 5 per cent of consumers planned to shop after Christmas, according to a Deloitte survey. This year, nearly 40 per cent will.

Retailers, as they do every year, are discounting leftover stacks of reindeer-emblazoned sweaters. But some are also displaying new merchandise at full price to attract impulse buyers emboldened by store credit and confidence in the economy.

Seasonal workers are being assigned longer shifts. Stores are extending their hours.

For years, traditional retailers have been steadily losing sales to Amazon and its e-commerce kin while being battered by a string of bankruptcies and declining revenue. But the vibrant holiday season has kindled hopes among some that the “retail apocalypse” has perhaps hit bottom.

Recently, the last week of the year started to feel “a little like a stretched-out Black Friday,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a consulting firm.

“This has, over the years, been gradually assuming more and more importance in the overall mix,” he said. “Retailers want to get a second bite at the apple.”

Overall retail sales from the start of November until Christmas Eve increased nearly 5 per cent from the same period a year earlier, the largest upswing since 2011. But online sales surged 18 per cent.

More e-commerce means more returns, but even returns can have a silver lining when the economy is strong and consumers are in a spending mood. Companies are dangling incentives for consumers to return holiday gifts in person, knowing that those who do often end up browsing the store and buying other items.

—New York Times News Service