Black Friday is expanding
Canadian retailers adopt U.S. tradition, promote online sales on Cyber Monday, too
For Canadian retailers watching shoppers flock south of the border for Black Friday sales, it was a case of “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
Black Friday — the Friday following U.S. Thanksgiving, which is this Thursday — is the busiest U.S. shopping day of the year. It has now become a Canadian tradition, with last year the largest Black Friday in Canada ever, both online and inside bricks-and-mortar stores.
This week’s shopping event is shaping up to be even larger, with some retailers launching Black Friday “pre-sales” — and others stretching their Black Friday sales for two weeks and more.
According to BMO’s 2013 Holiday Spending Outlook, close to half of Canadian consumers plan to shop this Friday, an increase of 15 per cent over last year. The average spend will be $292.
People in Ontario are most likely to be Black Friday shoppers, with 55 per cent saying they plan to shop this Friday. In B.C., 45 per cent plan to shop that day and they expect to spend $231 on average, much less than their Alberta neighbours, who expect to spend $330.
The Black Friday kickoff to the holiday shopping season extends through the weekend to Cyber Monday, a term coined in 2005 to convince people to shop online.
Consumer electronics retailers were among the first to launch Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in Canada. Future Shop launches its Black Friday sales this Thursday with a VIP sale in all its stores across Canada, with Black Friday weekend sales continuing from Friday through Sunday both online and in stores. Cyber Monday, Future Shop’s fourth, will have an expanded assortment of deals online.
Theo Horsdal, computer buyer for London Drugs, said this will be the second year that his company has promoted Black Friday in its flyer and in stores. And the retailer will be showcasing deals on the web for Cyber Monday. Horsdal said London Drugs’ vendors are providing “way more deals for the Black Friday time frame than they ever have before.”
“Generally speaking, throughout the year consumer electronics at Canadian retail is constantly competing with, and often exceeding, the expectations of Canadian customers relative to pricing in the U.S.,” Horsdal said in an email, adding that many high-tech products purchased across the border are only serviceable in the U.S. if something goes wrong.
Statistics Canada reports that Canadians spent $18.9 billion in 2012 online, up 24 per cent over 2010. Online shoppers averaged about $1,450 each in spending, spreading their shopping among 13 separate orders.
A holiday e-commerce survey conducted for Visa Canada found three of four Canadians plan to buy gifts online this holiday season. On average, according to the survey, Canadians will spend 30 per cent of their holiday shopping budget online, with close to 50 per cent expecting to spend $100 to $499 online and 16 per cent planning to spend even more.