Most shopping malls in Alberta’s two major cities were busy Monday, but will consumers be spending as much this year with the economic slump?
“We’ve seen a great turnout for both Black Friday and for Boxing Day,” Samim Sarwari, manager of Best Buy Sunridge in Calgary, said. “In fact, I think a lot more customers have that extra fire for Boxing Day.”
According to an Ebates.ca poll, Boxing Day is still Canada’s favourite shopping holiday. Fifty-three per cent of Canadians plan to shop on Boxing Day compared to 45 per cent who do so on Black Friday.
READ MORE: Boxing Day is still Canada’s favorite holiday shopping day
The manager of Calgary’s Chinook Centre agrees Albertans favour Boxing Day to Black Friday.
“Black Friday, if we are about 50,000 to 60,000, Boxing Day usually sees over 80,000 people,” Paige O’Neill said.
“It slowly catching up in Canada but because it’s not an official holiday here, people are still working, whereas Boxing Day is always a holiday in Canada.”
She said early numbers showed Dec. 26, 2016 was “pretty much on par” with Dec. 26, 2015.
READ MORE: Saskatoon residents aren’t buying into Black Friday, Cyber Monday
Sarwari said the most popular items were TVs. Customers could expect to get hundreds of dollars off, he added.
“We were here for just one and then I checked the bigger sale here and then I got two,” said Satwant Sidhu, who walked away with two 60-inch TVs.
Most people braved the Best Buy for deals on electronics.
“I bought a Sharp TV, 55-inch Smart TV just for $499,” Prabh Singh said. “A really good deal and the rush is getting too much as the morning passes.
“People are coming and coming and everything is going.”
It seemed to be a busy Boxing Day, despite the economy.
“We are going to have to see through the Christmas sales season because that’s the big time for our clients, all of our retailers,” O’Neill said. “But, this morning we saw lineups at Champs, Zara, H and M, Pandora, lululemon, which is about the same as we did last year.
“People are still coming out. The weather is good. Weather is a big factor on Boxing Day in those sales seasons, but with everybody off today it’s a great experience for people if they are willing to be patient.”
It was a similar scene in South Edmonton Common. Parking lots were packed full and stores were jammed with TVs and large electronics again the hot ticket items.
“The traffic is still there,” Thomas Chin, a Best Buy sales manager in Edmonton. “If you’re comparing to last year, it’s the same or better.”
Chin said his location had about 200 staff members working Monday; about 95 per cent of total employees.
“Boxing Day still is and will be the biggest day of the year for our brand.”
However, Edmonton’s Londonderry Mall was a much quieter venue on the holiday Monday.
“It’s been very slow,” Leona Paush, owner of Step in Shoes, a family business in the mall. “We have been open since eight in the morning and it’s been very quiet.”
“The downturn in Alberta is felt, but people do need certain products,” she added.
The lull wasn’t bad news for everyone.
“I can actually get around the mall without there being stampedes of people as are at some of the bigger malls,” said Jarvis Delisle, who was picking up a birthday present.
“I thought it was going to be… mayhem in here today, but it’s pretty calm.”
READ MORE: Mall shopping on decline, experts say
A survey conducted for CIBC found that, on average, Canadians planned to spend about eight per cent less than they did last year. Respondents said they would spend an average of nearly $600 on this year’s holiday shopping.
However, the poll suggested Albertans would end up spending six per cent more this season at $688, while Ontarians and Quebecers would cut their holiday shopping budgets by 12 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
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