Holiday retail season ramps up with Black Friday
Posted November 29, 2019 12:07 am.
Last Updated November 29, 2019 2:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
This is Black Friday — a day that not so long ago had no significance in Canada — but today it does.
Canadian shoppers craving a deal increasingly turn to the sales bonanza imported from America, where retailers long slashed prices the day after their Thanksgiving holiday — at the expense of another sales spree in Canada — Boxing Day.
The shift comes as consumers increasingly plan to spend before Christmas and check gifts off their holiday lists, industry watchers say, and the change offers retailers a slight edge.
Michael Leblanc, a senior retail adviser with the Retail Council of Canada, says Black Friday now fills a Canadian need.
He says it gives consumers the chance to secure deals on presents rather than shop after the gift-giving season is over.
Forty-three per cent of respondents to the group’s second annual holiday shopping survey planned to purchase items today — up from 40 per cent the previous year.
Only 34 per cent of respondents intended to shop on Boxing Day.
A survey by Deloitte Canada showed a similar disenchantment with the Boxing Day sales day.
