REGINA – There’s no better sign indicating the arrival of Black Friday than discounts popping up in front store windows.
“I’ve seen stores that are going to be 50 percent off of everything, there are some that offer 40 percent. So, there are some lucrative deals out there,” said Krista Bebeau, the marketing director at Cornwall Centre.
The American shopping phenomenon made its way north of the border several years ago.
“It started out that we really had to educate Canadians on what Black Friday was,” explained Bebeau.
Black Friday is an annual day in America that occurs the day after Thanksgiving and marks the start of the holiday shopping season with retailers offering steep discounts to customers.
The tradition has since gained traction in Canada, including Regina.
“We’ve seen sales increases and traffic increases every year of about six to 12 per cent,” noted Bebeau.
Retailers are expecting those same results this year, especially with a weaker Canadian dollar and eager shoppers.
“I do plan on shopping. I’m going to try and come here as early as possible,” said one shopper at the Cornwall Centre.
“I think it’s perfect. I think it makes more sense to buy things ahead of time before Christmas,” said another.
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But shoppers may actually be looking elsewhere for deals. According to an Equifax survey, 75 per cent of Canadians plan on doing part or all of their holiday shopping online.
The shift in consumer shopping habits has traditional brick and mortar stores offering more to shoppers to keep them in the checkout line.
“Just extended hours, we have a bunch of big sales going on, some extra incentives from some of our suppliers to give the customer the best deals possible,” said Niall Richmond, the general manager at Visions Electronics.
“We are giving away swag bags with gift cards in them to the first 150 shoppers,” added Bebeau.
It’s a sales pitch that hasn’t swayed everyone, especially those consumers more comfortable with traditional Canadian shopping holidays.
“I don’t really know the purpose of Black Friday, it’s more of an American thing not so much a Canadian thing. I just think it’s going to be crazy busy in here and hectic,” said another shopper at the Cornwall Centre.
But if previous years are any indication, retailers are ready for Canadians to make a deal come Black Friday.
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