December 26, 2005
Monday

Nearly a third of all Americans expect they'll stand in long lines on the day after Christmas to return those polka-dot ties and just-slightly-too-small sweaters.

Scripps Howard poll results The Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll asked 1,005 adult residents of the United States the question: "Do you usually have to return at least one Christmas gift to the store where it was bought, or do you usually not return gifts?" Thirty percent said they usually return a gift. Here's how the question broke among different groups. Entire nation ................ 30 Men .......................... 30 Women ........................ 30 18-24 ........................ 31 25-44 ........................ 37 45-64 ........................ 25 65 or older .................. 22 Single ....................... 25 Married ...................... 34 Has Children ................. 31 Does Not Have children ....... 29 Not A High School Graduate ... 29 Graduated High School ........ 27 Attended Some College ........ 26 College Graduate ............. 38 Post Graduate Studies ........ 34 Income Below $25,000 ......... 24 25,000 to $40,000 ............ 24 40,000 to $60,000 ............ 26 60,000 to $80,000 ............ 40 $80,000 or more .............. 41 White ........................ 31 African-American ............. 28 Hispanic ..................... 26 Asian-American ............... 25 Other ........................ 30 Northeast .................... 25 South ........................ 30 Midwest ...................... 37 West ......................... 29 Lives in major city .......... 32 Smaller city ................. 28 Suburb ....................... 34 Rural area ................... 26 Strong Democrat .............. 30 Lean Toward the Democrats .... 36 Independent .................. 28 Lean Toward the Republicans .. 32 Strong Republican ............ 32 Gone To Church Lately ........ 33 Not Attended Church Lately ... 29 Source: National survey of 1,005 adults conducted Oct. 9-23 by Scripps Howard News Service and the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)

But the good news is that few Americans say they often feel cheated by Santa Claus, not getting that great gift they were secretly hoping for, according to a Scripps Howard/Ohio University survey of 1,005 adults.

"Yes, the day after Christmas is a pretty big day, usually in the top five for largest numbers of shoppers," said Scott Krugman at the National Retail Federation. "We've found the they are shopping for two reasons, both to return something and to buy something at all of the clearance sales."

The day after Christmas was once celebrated in England as St. Stephen's Day, the time when wealthy nobles would pass out cash and durable goods to the lower classes. (The exchanging of gifts on Christmas Day was reserved for equals.)

Americans look on Dec. 26 as a time to make consumer amends and fix the incorrect purchases that other made for them. But some folks are more likely than others to be standing in the return lines this week.

Fighting the crowds is definitely a young person's game. Thirty-seven percent of people ages 25-44 say they usually return at least one gift each year, compared to only 22 percent of folks 65 or older.

People living in suburbs are much more likely to return gifts than folks living in rural areas. Married people are also much more likely to return items than singles, as are well-educated people over folks who never finished college.

More than 40 percent of people in households earning $80,000 a year or more expect to return a gift, double the return rate among people in households earning $10,000 or less.

The poll found men and women are equally likely to return gifts, with 30 percent of each gender saying they'll stand in lines after Christmas. Republicans, Democrats and independents are equally likely to expect to return gifts.

The survey also asked: "Generally, are you happy with the gifts you get at Christmas, or does it often happen that you secretly were hoping for something else?" Only 9 percent said they usually have secret gift longings.

The survey was conducted by telephone Oct. 9-23 at the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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