Business & Tech
POLL: What Kind of Holiday Shopper Are You?
How consumer trends play out in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Christmas is over but shoppers are heading back to stores for two reasons, according to national media outlets.
Since before Christmas and Hanukkah, retailers saw a spike in returns.
In mid-December, one CEO told Time that this would be "a record year for returns."
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In fact, for every dollar spent, $0.099 will be returned to stores, according to the Associated Press.
Other consumers will hit the malls to take advantage of post-holiday sales.
Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
At the Mall in Columbia, stores are slashing prices. Ann Taylor and Coldwater Creek are giving customers 50 percent off storewide, and 60 percent off at Banana Republic.
Clothes, furniture and appliances are items that will bring post-holiday shoppers in the doors, according to this article from Bloomberg.
At the Mall in Columbia, so many shoppers were out the day after Christmas that people were using social media to find relief.
@HowChowBlog tweeted on Dec. 26: "Avoid the @MallInColumbia in #HoCo. They're letting parking lots degenerate to gridlock. My wife has spent 30 minutes to go 100 feet."
On the mall's Facebook page, Kathy Owen Reed wrote around the same time: "Need mall security to clear out the nordstom parking snarl. Cant park or leave lot. This is a disaster."
Within 20 minutes, The Mall in Columbia responded: "Hi Kathy - Thanks for the feedback. Our Public Safety Team is working to address the situation."
Looking to avoid parking garages?
Freestanding shopping centers have deals going on too. Through Jan. 2, is having an "after Christmas Blitz," with 40–60 percent off the store in Long Gate Shopping Center.
Have you gone post-holiday shopping? Tell us in the comments, or take our poll.
There are four types of shoppers, according to a Dec. 27 article from the Associated Press: bargain hunter, midnight shopper, returner and the “me” shopper.
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