Knowing your shopping style can help you plan ahead
Find out whether you should brave busy malls and stores or browse on your computer
For those debating whether to hit brick-and-mortar stores or crack open a computer for Black Friday sales, first consider the type of shopper you are.
Does the buzz of a busy mall or scouring the shelves of bustling bigbox stores get you pumped?
Perhaps perusing local mom-andpop shops or ducking into streetside stores is more your style. Then again, you may have a penchant for snagging unbelievable bargains online.
Each approach has pros and cons, but thankfully the ever-growing Black Friday extravaganza appeals to a wide ranch of shoppers, as Canadian retailers big and small, online and in-store, have embraced the event, happening Friday.
According to Michael E. LeBlanc, senior vice-president of membership, programs and revenue with the Retail Council of Canada, online buying is expected to spike, based on trends from previous years.
“Online growth is quite significant,” says LeBlanc. “The big trend is that machines don’t sleep. You can open your website at midnight, but you don’t have to open your stores at midnight.”
Of course some crave the social and tangible experience of shopping.
For them, being able to touch fabrics, try on garments, and inspect the quality of a TV screen is part of the thrill.
“Online shopping is a transactional experience as opposed to going to a mall where it’s social and there are people and personalities,” offers LeBlanc. “But there’s a mix there because it’s also transactional.”
He observes that the way purchases are made can also change based on the item.
This means a person could find smaller or unique items in their community, order books and electronics online — both are top online
“Set aside some time if you’re shopping online. Even if it’s two hours before work. . .” CATHIE MOSTOWYK PRESIDENT OF SHOESTRINGSHOPPING.COM
purchases — “and then hit the big box stores for something else.”
For the crowd-adverse (or those who want to spend wearing pyjamas), online is the way to go.
Plus, for car-free households in the market for larger products, the con- venience of having them shipped, often for free, is too good to pass up.
“Set aside some time if you’re shopping online,” advises shopping pro, Cathie Mostowyk, president of Shoestringshopping.com
“Even if it’s two hours before work in the morning. If you know what size you are, it’s pretty easy to order online, and online retailers have made it easy to make returns.”
She also encourages people to support smaller local retailers on Black Friday whenever possible because “it’s getting harder and harder for them to compete.”