Black Friday, squeezed between American Thanksgiving and the weekend, is heralded as the most important shopping day in the United States each year.
But with more and more Canadian stores adopting the pre-Christmas sales extravanza in recent years, it is remains unclear how well the event will fare north of the border in the long run.
After all, Canada does not have its own shopping holiday at this time of year, and the U.S. has more of a discount culture than in Canada, says Kyle Murray, director of the school of retailing at the University of Alberta.
To no surprise, many Canadian retailers are hoping the American trend will catch on, he says. Black Friday sales originally started in Canada as a defensive move by retailers fearing lost sales to both U.S. stores online, and to those close to the border.
"So we started trying to, if not match, at least have some of the same sales around the same time," he said.
Recent polls published by the Retail Council of Canada suggest that a majority of Canadian retailers rate Black Friday sales as somewhat to very important for their holiday revenues.
Almost 70 per cent of those polled said they have a sales strategy for Black Friday. The same number of retailers is expecting their revenue this week will compare to last year's.
Christmas remains a critical time for retailers, Murray says.
The months leading up to the Yule season are when businesses sell the majority of their products, and sales are especially important to those who specialize in popular gift items, such as toys or electronics.
"On grocery and auto sales it has less of an impact," he says.
Retailers confident
Retailers are confident that they will do well during this year's Black Friday sale, says Michael LeBlanc, senior vice-president of digital retail with the Retail Council of Canada.
Not only is Black Friday a recognized shopping event now, other factors can also boost retail sales this week.
For one, the weather forecast is more promising than last year, drawing shoppers out of their homes. And the economy has helped push consumer confidence in many parts of Canada, which translates into an overall better shopping season, he says.
"It's an important time for retailers and this is another opportunity to remind people that it's fun to shop … and a great opportunity to keep more of our consumer dollars here."
E-commerce
With many sales now over the Internet, Black Friday also provides an opportunity for retailers to expand their online business. LeBlanc suggests Black Friday may become more of an online holiday in the future, due to Canadians having to work during the day.
Murray, however, says spending is moving online but e-commerce is unlikely to take over all of the retail market. There may be fewer shoppers in stores now, but sales numbers in-store have slightly increased, he says. That's because more people are researching products online but then making purchases in person.
Effect on Boxing Day
Canada may not have seen dangerous stampedes of buyers like those when U.S. stores open for Black Friday sales, but Canadian consumers are certainly interested in deals — something that is wildly apparent on Boxing Day, Murray says.
And whether Black Friday will have an effect on the popular shopping day after Christmas is yet to be determined. For now, many retailers still appear to be holding back their biggest discounts for the day after Christmas, he says.
