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Boxing Day shopping turnout still strong despite lagging economy

Boxing Day shopping has continued to be a time-honoured holiday tradition despite the slowing economy and high unemployment across the province. St.
Weston Koroluk of Morinville carries away a TV at the Best Buy in St. Albert at the 6 a.m. opening on Boxing Day.
Weston Koroluk of Morinville carries away a TV at the Best Buy in St. Albert at the 6 a.m. opening on Boxing Day.

Boxing Day shopping has continued to be a time-honoured holiday tradition despite the slowing economy and high unemployment across the province.

St. Albert Centre general manager Jillian Creech says that the numbers aren't in yet, but the mall didn't feel slower due to the slumping economy.

"It has seemed very busy up to and including today [Tuesday]," Creech said. "People are definitely out there searching for the Boxing Day sales."

Creech said that traditional Boxing Day has expanded to include the entire week after Christmas, and is not just limited to the day itself. On Tuesday morning, more than one week after Boxing Day has ended, the mall was still full of sale signs.

Rebecca Huxter of Game City said that she had the day off but overall the store sales were up compared to years past because they were offering better bargains this year.

Monjeloco Jeans owner Raquel Lozano said her shop was very busy during Boxing Day, but not quite as busy as years past.

"Definitely Boxing Day is one of the biggest days for us," Lozano said. "It was a very successful day."

Her shop was open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the sales drew in customers from across Canada.

Despite the success, Lozano said that Boxing Day sales were down 20 per cent from last year.

"You can see a little bit of a decrease in the sales," Lozano said. "Last year was better. 2015 was very good."

Lozano thinks the economy has a lot to do with the decreased sales. She said the slumping economy is resulting in people being more careful with their money.

"People are worried about the carbon tax now and people are now more careful how they spend their money," Lozano said.

Black Friday

Black Friday still hasn't dethroned Boxing Day as the biggest shopping day in the year in St. Albert.

Lozano says that Black Friday is a pretty good day for sales in her store, but not as good as Boxing Day. Part of the reason is that the deals during the December holiday are just better.

Game City in St. Albert Centre says the sales on Boxing Day are much higher than Black Friday. Huxter said that the store was "much busier, by about double," on Boxing Day as compared to Black Friday.

Huxter said she was surprised to see such high sales and traffic in the mall. She expected lower sales because of the economic downturn and construction in the mall.




Jennifer Henderson

About the Author: Jennifer Henderson

Jennifer Henderson is the editor of the St. Albert Gazette and has been with Great West Media since 2015.
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