Icy roads, freezing temperatures and a pandemic were no match for shoppers on the hunt for Boxing Day deals in northeast Calgary.
“I got a really nice air fryer. I saved $140. I got it for 80 bucks,” said Doris Kuryk as she left the Sunridge Best Buy on Sunday morning.
Around 100 people were in the parking lot, ready to shop at the store when the doors opened at 8 a.m. on Sunday, snapping up everything from air fryers to laptops.
The store’s manager said Boxing Day is still the busiest day of the year at his store but Black Friday is gaining ground.
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“I would say Black Friday and Boxing Day are more and more comparable every year. The deals are the best deals you’re going to get in the entire year,” said Cooper Holm, store leader at Sunridge Best Buy.
The Retail Council of Canada (RCC) said supply chain issues resulted in delayed merchandise and in some cases, products not arriving at some stores, so many of the deals are being extended.
“In the lead up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday a lot of the promotions that retailers had planned for those two holidays have been delayed or carried through the remainder of the holiday season up to Boxing Day and beyond because they had inventory that didn’t arrive on time,” said RCC spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen.
The trade association’s annual holiday shopping survey showed Canadians expected to spend more this season than in 2020 and more were hoping to return to in-person shopping, but Wasylyshen said the arrival of the Omicron variant may have disrupted some plans.
“It really is the perfect storm of issues right now for retailers. Whether it’s supply chain, the new variant, labour shortages. Definitely impactful over the holiday season,” Wasylyshen said.
Wasylyshen predicts shoppers and retailers will continue to face supply chain challenges into the new year and possibly into 2023.
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