Post Holiday Shopping In Full Swing; Buyers Looking For Deals

The wintry weather that dumped as much as 29 inches of snow in some areas led to store and mall closings and opening delays. MacArthur Center in Norfolk, Va., for instance, closed at 3 p.m. Sunday, five hours earlier than the scheduled time. The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey remained shuttered Monday afternoon after closing up shop three hours early Sunday, said parent company Taubman Centers (NYSE:TCO)  .

Bolstered by marketing pitches and earlier-than-ever holiday promotions, retail sales this holiday season, the industry’s biggest selling period, have been expected to register their best performance in several years, according to different surveys and trade groups.

While the winners and losers of the season have largely been decided, the week after Christmas is still important, as shoppers head back to stores to return or exchange merchandise, scour after-Christmas sales or seek fresh merchandise with their gift cards, analysts said.

This week typically accounts for just over 15% of total holiday sales, and the day after Christmas alone is generally expected to rank as one of the year’s top 10 shopping days in terms of sales and traffic. Shopping-mall-traffic tracker ShopperTrak has said the trend is expected to hold for 2010.