Retailers rely on post-Christmas sales

(NBC) - Friday marks the traditional day many people bring back some of those gifts Santa left under the tree, and since it has turned out to be a dismal shopping season for retailers, they are hoping that while people make those returns, some big sales will get them shopping as well. The Christmas holiday has come and gone, but even before gifts were exchanged Thursday, retailers were focused on getting shoppers back to the malls in the hopes of making up for the weakest preholiday sales in 35 years.

Despite massive discounts and longer store hours, total holiday sales were down at least 5 percent from last year, with the high-end stores taking the biggest hit. Luxury sales are down a whopping 34 percent.

Online purchases fared relatively better but were still in negative territory, down by 2.3 percent. With profits such as these, many may wonder, "What is a store to do?"

The answer: slash prices even more. Stores such as Sears and JCPenney have increased their post-Christmas sales by up to 70 percent, numbers that rival what has traditionally been the biggest shopping day of the year: Black Friday.

"I'm not normally a person who shops a lot after Christmas, but I feel like there's a lot of good deals out there this year," said a shopper. 

"We've reached a point that the retailers can't afford to make the sales any bigger," said a retail analyst.

Many stores are even making return policies more flexible, hoping that will get reluctant buyers to take a risk, and with nearly half of all shoppers saying they will return to the stores Friday, retailers are hoping a post-Christmas binge will jumpstart the new year, just six days away.