BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Thursday was a busy day for shops around our region with returns and post-Christmas sales. Holiday shopping reached record levels this year but a growing share of those purchases will be brought back.

If you were out making returns Thursday, you weren’t alone.

“Santa bought us a Meta Quest 2 that wasn’t working, so we had to contact the North Pole to figure out the return process and we came here to get the upgrade to the Meta Quest 3,” said Jenny Hopkins of Burlington.

The National Retail Federation says returns in 2024 are expected to amount to 17% of all sales or about $890 billion.

“Wrong-sized stuff, like an iPad case we have to return, get a different size, buy a new one. A skirt I have to exchange, just little stuff like that,” said Olivia Cyr of South Burlington.

“We are going to another place to return another gift. I got the same thing that her mom got her, but her mom got her a better one, so we’re going to return something down on Church Street,” said Caleb Gillespie of Burlington.

The Better Business Bureau says if you’re thinking about returning an item, it’s easiest if you keep the tags on and make sure you have the receipt.

Still, some shoppers say it’s easier to make returns than ever before.

“A lot of the stores you don’t even need the receipts, so it’s nice to just, ‘You have an account, perfect,’” Cyr said.

While out making returns, shoppers took advantage of post-season sales, too.

“I knew it’s the day after Christmas, so usually there’s a lot of sales, so I was just like I’ll use my money, my Christmas money to buy stuff I don’t need, but it’s OK,” said Natalee Wells of South Burlington.

One shopper even scored a MacBook Air that was almost 50% off.

“I was just actually picking up a Christmas gift for myself. I’ve been working hard a lot lately and I feel like I just deserve this gift,” said Lasah McMurrey of Cambridge.

Some were even left disappointed by sold-out stock that other people scooped up with the sales.

“There were some good deals. There was a couple of stuff that was sold out that we were looking for, because of the holidays. I know the Kindles seem to fly off the shelf. They’re not anywhere we can find them,” Gillespie said.

Others, though, lucked out this holiday season.

“I’ve actually had to make no returns. All the stuff I got from my family, my boyfriend, they all just fit perfectly,” McMurrey said.

If your gifts weren’t perfect, many retailers will continue to accept returns through the end of January for all holiday purchases. Most items have either a 30- or 90-day return deadline from the time of purchase.

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