The day after Christmas has become an eagerly anticipated day for many local shoppers.

At The Pineapple downtown, the store was busy &#8220from the moment the doors opened this morning at nine,” said manager Katrina Scofield.

The business offers half-off on merchandise throughout the store, including Hallmark cards, clothing, accessories, jewelry and home d\u00E9cor.

Its Christmas ornaments and holiday d\u00E9cor are among the first items chosen by bargain hunters, who had stripped most of the shop's display trees bare by mid-afternoon.

&#8220I love this. Isn't it hilarious?” said shopper Nancy Idland, referring to a whimsical stuffed reindeer with a Christmas tree on his back.

&#8220I'm not sure whether I'll give it as a gift or keep it for myself.”

Customers said they were buying items to put aside as gifts for next Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries and to simply treat themselves.

&#8220We have had a good day, certainly. People really look forward to this,” Scofield said.

At the Wal-Mart Super Center, Store Manager Bill McCrary said Dec. 26 &#8220had been a lot like the day before Christmas.”

&#8220We have had a lot of folks shopping for a lot of different items. As always, the half-price Christmas ornaments, trees and other holiday items have sold very well,” McCrary said.

Other hot-ticket bargains at Wal-Mart included half-priced bath and body gift sets and discounted electronics.

&#8220We are seeing a lot of people bringing in their gift cards and cash, and a lot of them are shopping electronics with their Christmas money.”

The local Wal-Mart has also seen its share of returns and exchanges on the day after Christmas, which McCrary said had gone &#8220pretty smoothly.”

At Fred's Discount in Gateway Plaza, Manager Randy Beeson was pleased with the crowds.

&#8220It's been busy from the time we opened at 8 a.m.,” Beeson said Tuesday afternoon.

&#8220We are selling a lot of everything today, clothing, electronics, and of course, Christmas d\u00E9cor items, which are half-price.”

As of 3 p.m., Beeson said his store had only seen 13 returns, a low number he credits to the store's tradition of high quality linked with low prices.

&#8220We are also seeing a lot of people bringing in their Christmas cash to spend. We are probably going to surpass what we did the same date last year,” Beeson said.

&#8220I feel like, at some point, the day after Christmas will be as good sales-wise as the three days before Christmas for us.”