Lineups started early outside of Regina’s Black Friday sales.
“More people are simply adopting the holiday like the Americans have, so we should see more people this year than we did last year,” Philip Belanger, Best Buy’s operations supervisor, said.
Alexandra Hussey, Cornwall Centre’s marketing manager, said she’s seen the value of sales increase over the last few years.
“I’ve noticed some of the retailers actually start running their sales throughout the week and then they add additional sales on Black Friday.”
According to a FedEx survey, nearly 60 per cent of Saskatchewan residents plan to click and ship.
Many stores have started catering to those who don’t want to leave the comfort of their couch.
For example, Best Buy allows customers to shop online and pick up their merchandise later.
“It’s not a statutory holiday, so this is a regular workday for a lot of people,” Belanger said. “So to wake up at six o’clock and make your purchase, or to wake up at six o’clock and reserve something and then go back to bed: it seems a lot simpler.”
Business professor Ed McHugh noted that 80 per cent of Canadians are expected to shop on Black Friday, which is up 20 per cent from last year.
“It’s funny, for Americans it’s just Black Friday, and as you know Cyber Monday has been added in,” he said. “But for Canadians, we have three major shoulder days to shop. We have Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day.