Post-Christmas shoppers raid malls in Delaware for bargain deals [video]

It didn’t take much time for crowds to fill Christiana Mall in Newark with post-Christmas shoppers.

On Friday, Department stores such as J.C. Penny’s were open as early as 6 a.m. Macy’s opened at 8 a.m with their “door buster” specials to lure in people looking for bargains. Macy’s worker Deborah Roy looks forward to this day ever year.

“A lot of people come into the store because a lot of people are returning stuff or they want to buy stuff and they have a lot of gift cards so we have fun,” Roy said.

Christiana Mall opened at 9 a.m., an hour earlier than usual. Steven Chambliss who manages the mall  expects to fill all 6,000 parking spaces and have as many as 15,000 shoppers during peak hours.

“Until the weekend after New Year’s we’re very busy. We are at peak levels every afternoon from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.  We’ll be jam-packed,” Chambliss said.

It’s pretty much a tradition for families to head to the mall the day after Christmas. In Delaware, most of the shoppers were out-of-towners trying to take advantage of tax-free shopping. Margo Clark of Havertown, PA was among those who couldn’t resist that perk.

“We are using gift cards the kids got for Christmas. We’re going to spend everything and get the good deals,” Clark said.