People in Saskatoon are busy opening their wallets on Black Friday.
Since 6 a.m. CT, about a dozen people lined up outside of Best Buy on Preston Avenue to get a first look on the latest tech deals.
“Everything always sells out so fast, so I just came early,” one customer said, shopping for her four-year-old son.
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Since opening its doors for the day at 8 a.m., Midtown Plaza has seen a steady volume of shoppers, and it isn’t likely to get any quieter this weekend.
Acting assistant general manager Peggy Lim said the amount of people the mall sees rivals Boxing Day.
“I would say that Black Friday is absolutely on par with Boxing Day, and Boxing Day in Canada is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year,” she said.
For those not willing to test their patience waiting in long lines, they went shopping online, an increasingly popular choice for Canadians looking for bargains in across the country, and in the United States.
“In 2014, 45 per cent of Canadians said they did some kind of online shopping. This 2016 holiday season, we’re projecting that number to be 61 percent,” Fed Ex Canada spokesperson James Anderson said.
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Saskatchewan has seen a down economic year, where layoffs have hit many of the province’s major sectors. But even with the low times, people will always find ways to spend if they feel like it, according to a University of Saskatchewan professor.
“It’s Christmas, so they may save in advance, but a lot of people just go into debt for Christmas,” said marketing prof. David Williams.
“The percentage of people spending on credit card is at an all time high.”
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