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Holiday sales rise -- and so do returns
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Martin S. Fuentes/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Justin Ocampo wheels a pallet of surplus products into Liquidation.com's warehouse in North Las Vegas on Dec. 6. Liquidation.com recently hired more than 20 seasonal workers to handle the influx of returns expected to flood into the 150,000-square-foot space. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Consumers nationwide are expected to return about $46 billion worth of merchandise purchased before Christmas, according to the National Retail Federation. That's 4 percent more than post-Christmas 2010 and 10 percent higher than in 2009.
Does that mean an increase in buyer's remorse or a growing inability to find the proper gift?
Not necessarily.
The federation said more use of gift receipts can lead to an increase in returns, but with that the likely culprit is simply success: Holiday sales were up this year.
"There's more to return," said Bryan Wachter, director of government affairs for the Nevada Retail Association.
For the holiday shopping season overall, the association estimated a 6 percent increase in sales over 2010.
"I think we met it," Wachter said. "It's been good for Nevada."
At Pediped, a children's shoe store at 1191 Center Point Drive in Henderson, sales were up 25 percent to 40 percent each week of the holiday shopping season compared with an average week.
"We had a lot of people in," store manager Heather Brown said. "But, we haven't had any returns so far."
Brown thinks it's because shoppers who came in primarily bought for their own children or wanted a specific item.
Larger retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy, though, did have customers returning items on Monday and Tuesday. At the Walmart on 3075 E. Tropicana Ave., lines "weren't long" for returns on Tuesday, said a store associate.
Returns, though, can sometimes be a good thing for a retailer.
While returning an item, many shoppers take advantage of blowout after-Christmas sales.
After Monday , members of the Nevada Retail Association reported good numbers and said they were happy with the day, Wachter said.
For some, an unwanted gift is a silver lining -- and a business plan.
Liquidation.com, which operates a 150,000-square-foot warehouse in North Las Vegas, recently hired more than 20 seasonal workers to handle the influx of returns expected to flood into the company's space.
Liquidation.com buys returns from seven of the top 10 U.S. retailers -- department stores, warehouse clubs and big-box retailers looking to clear their shelves for new wares -- for resale to smaller retailers or wholesale online.
"It's really started to get busy," Liquidation.com Vice President Rob Caskey said.
Typically, Caskey's business begins to pick up in November and December when small, independent entrepreneurs stock up for the holiday shopping season. As postholiday returns start to come in, his inventory rises, giving buyers more of a selection and allowing them to build inventory while it's available.
His customers range from small-time wholesalers who work primarily off sites like Craigslist to larger, discount retailers. Those demographics may not have access to volume discount goods that big box retailers do.
"We provide that liquid marketplace," Caskey said.
Besides its North Las Vegas location, Liquidation.com operates warehouses in Garland, Texas.; Cranbury, N.J.; and Plainfield, Ind.
Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.
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