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Shoppers hit the mall ahead of the holidays in Montreal

Click to play video: 'Last minute Christmas shopping'
Last minute Christmas shopping
WATCH: It’s the most wonderful time of the year – and busiest if you’ve delayed buying your Christmas presents and are now one of thousands heading to the malls. Global's Matt Grillo reports – Dec 22, 2017

Friday marked the final weekday before Christmas and is historically one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The debit payment company Interac projects Friday to have more than 25-million transactions across the country.

READ MORE: Bad Santa fired by Montreal shopping mall after complaints

Last year, Interac says $1.2 billion was spent in debit sales on the Friday before Christmas.

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“It’s getting busier and busier because there’s always those last-minute shoppers,” Alyssa Gangadin, an employee at Mercuri gift store, said.

READ MORE: ‘Twas the day before Christmas…and everyone was at the mall

With just days to go before Christmas, Montrealers didn’t shy away from the malls, they flooded the Cours Mont-Royal.

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“The traffic is a lot more than a usual day,” Valerie Law, marketing vice-president at the Cours Mont-Royal, said.

For some, it may be the deals that pull them in so close to the holidays, but for others, it wouldn’t be Christmas without feeling anxiety while shopping.

“I need a little pressure,” Chloe Simon, a shopper visiting from New York, said. “Frantic holiday shopping for your family. It’s part of the tradition of Christmas. It’s like expected.”

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