Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year and many Calgarians got an early start on their gift lists as people packed into local malls to track down the best deals.
Electronic stores like Best Buy opened extra early and offered significant discounts on TVs, computers, home appliances and other big-ticket items.
One woman carted away a big screen television in her sedan and needed a little help packing it in.
“I paid about $1,599, so I am pretty sure I saved a few hundred bucks. I’m very happy. I’m even happier I could fit it in the car,” said Tammy Mutter.
Wilson Wang arrived early and saved about $200 on his new 4K television.
“I got here at about 6:30 a.m. It was literally just an impulse. I wasn’t planning on buying a new TV but when I saw the price, I thought, ‘why not?’”
Statistics by Moneris show that people will spend the most at women’s clothing, home renovation and home furnishing stores.
Chinook Centre in the city’s south was bustling with people and property manager, Shannon Perschon, says they are seeing crowds similar to last year.
“Boxing Day and Black Friday, we get the most amount of shoppers and no different than last year, same traffic, busy first thing in the morning, people were here at 7:00 a.m. even though the mall didn’t open until 8 and that was fantastic,” said Perschon.
Perschon says sales have been steady but Boxing Day is still the biggest shopping day for the mall.
“It is the busiest shopping day of the entire year so Black Friday is eking up every single year, it’s getting more popular with shoppers to get those deals early but it doesn’t quite hit the Boxing Day numbers so they’re both fantastic days if you’re looking for good deals,” she said.
“No plan just come and see what’s at the mall and hopefully save some money,” said James Cadott.
“Lots of good sales, 40 percent off, 50 percent off,” said Sonia Kimmitt “My grandkids are not going to be happy.”
Moneris says Canadians are projected to spend six percent more this Black Friday than in 2016 and experts say, overall, retail sales are up nine percent this year.
