Advertisement

Is Boxing Day shopping losing its lustre? Vancouver shoppers flock to malls in search of sales

Click to play video: 'Metro Vancouver shoppers try to snag Boxing Day deals'
Metro Vancouver shoppers try to snag Boxing Day deals
WATCH: Are the days of the legendary Boxing Day door-crasher sales over? Nadia Stewart reports – Dec 26, 2019

Many people across Metro Vancouver went shopping on Boxing Day, either in brick-and-mortar stores or online.

The dash for Boxing Day deals started early Thursday morning, with a small but dedicated group of bargain hunters waiting outside the Best Buy in downtown Vancouver at 6 a.m. for the doors to open.

WATCH: The changing face of Boxing Day

Click to play video: 'The changing face of Boxing Day'
The changing face of Boxing Day

Store leader Manek Mavalvalla, however, said the days when shoppers would camp out overnight for door-crasher deals are largely a thing of the past.

Story continues below advertisement
“Customers are getting up a little later, but our store is busy all the way through [the day], all the way to the end,” he said.
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Vancouver International Airport warned travellers to prepare for traffic congestion due to the Boxing Day sale at a nearby outlet mall.

The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, which shares some road access with the airport, is holding its annual sales event on Dec. 26.

Large crowds were also spotted at the Tsawwassen Mills outlet mall and the Arc’teryx factory store in North Vancouver.

David Ian Gray, a retail analyst with DIG360, says recent research conducted with their partner Leger suggests that shoppers are increasingly turning to Black Friday — a sales bonanza imported from the U.S., where retailers long slashed prices the day after their Thanksgiving holiday — at the expense of Boxing Day.

Story continues below advertisement
Click to play video: 'The real story behind Black Friday'
The real story behind Black Friday

“People are a little less likely to be going out for Boxing Day and Boxing Week this year compared to last year,” he said.

“Our prediction is, for the first time, we’re about to see the same traffic Boxing Day as Black Friday.”

Gray noted that there will still be interest in Boxing Day sales, especially among younger shoppers.

“It’s a young person’s sport,” he said. “It’s very social, it’s an event… For those bargain hounds, they want to be the first in.”

The Vancouver Public Library, meanwhile, had some fun with Boxing Day shopping, noting that it was hosting its “biggest sale of the year,” with books and movies available at the rock-bottom price of free.

Story continues below advertisement

“Do not miss this deal! You will be able to get it every other day this year,” it joked.

— With files from Simon Little and The Canadian Press

Sponsored content

AdChoices