Customers were greeted by the bright yellow signs as they walked through the doors of the Natchez Kmart Tuesday: CLEARANCE.

The word appealed to many &uot;day-after&uot; shoppers who stopped to sort through the boxes and buggies of wrapping paper, candy and ornaments before moving on to other sale items scattered throughout the store.

Bargain hunters made up much of the crowd on one of the biggest shopping days of the year, supplemented by the usual long lines of those dissatisfied with Christmas gifts.

Holli Hankins of Natchez needed only to exchange a bedside lamp before switching into shopping gear. Standing nearby, sister Nikki was eager to spend Christmas money and cash in gift certificates.

Frank Creel chose to browse the electronics department while his wife maneuvered the aisles. Residents of Franklinton, La., the couple was visiting inlaws for the holidays.

&uot;She’s looking for sales,&uot; Creel said of his wife. &uot;She starts shopping the day after for next year.&uot;

Also visiting family, Anne Jones of Los Angeles filled her Wal-Mart cart with items marked half off the regular price. Jones said she stocks up each year on after-Christmas sale items to give as gifts throughout the rest of the year. To better accommodate returns and exchanges, Wal-Mart opened a service door leading directly to the customer service desk.

Mary Brumfield, customer service manager, said this was the first year to have a separate entrance for returns. It was successful in keeping the crowds moving, he said

&uot;We’re busier today than we were the day before Christmas,&uot; Brumfield said. &uot;And I was here until 8 o’clock Christmas Eve.&uot;

While returns and exchanges were keeping her busy, Brumfield said many customers were shopping the sales and spending gift certificates, a popular gift this year.

Several customers spent their day off grocery shopping. &uot;I guess they ran out of food,&uot; Brumfield said, laughing.

Natchez Mall was also bustling with shoppers buying reduced-priced items and returning gifts.

McRae’s Manager Mary Flach said by 1 p.m. the store had already made as much money as they planned for the whole day.

Though many shoppers think differently, there is actually very little difference in most prices before and after Christmas, Flach said.

&uot;But our Christmas items do go way down,&uot; she said. &uot;People expect it.&uot;

All store managers agreed shopping went smoothly throughout the day Tuesday, with some stores like McRae’s testing out a new returns system which proved successful, Flach said.

The best deals may have been Tuesday morning, but many stores will run sales though the rest of the week and even into next year.

Bath and Body Works Manager Sabrina Rouse said their sale starts on Dec. 26 and runs through January.

&uot;We are trying to get all holiday and seasonal products out to make room for our new spring line,&uot; she said.

Rouse said she sees customers buying gifts for next year as well as late gifts for this year. &uot;Some customers say they don’t exchange gifts until after Christmas because of the sales.&uot;

Imogene King of Ferriday, La., and Grace King of Horseshoe Lake, La., were among the crowds braving the mall.

&uot;I wanted to buy some things for my granddaughter who is going to college,&uot; said Grace King. &uot;I also wanted to look for bargains.&uot;

&uot;I find it’s a good time to buy presents for next year,&uot; said Imogene King. &uot;I’m just a bargain shopper.&uot;

The women said they usually come out every year to do post-Christmas shopping. &uot;Sometimes I have to bring things back,&uot; said Imogene King. &uot;We just came out to have fun.&uot;

But the sales and the shopping were not limited to the mall; downtown merchants also dealt with after-Christmas crowds. Santa’s Station owner Kim Gammill said Dec. 26 is always a busy day at her store, with ornaments being the top seller.

Santa’s Station marks down all of it’s Christmas 2000 inventory to make room for next year’s items. Amazingly, Gammill said, &uot;We have had no returns today.&uot;