Shoppers in Calgary jump at Black Friday deals amid rising cost of living

The holiday shopping season is here, but many shoppers in Calgary and across the country will be clamping down financially, given the rising cost of living.

Canada's inflation rate peaked in June at 8.1 per cent, which was the highest the country had seen in nearly four decades.

It has since cooled off to 6.9 per cent in October, but food and energy prices remain high as Albertans brace for colder weather and, in turn, higher utility bills.

"This is a time of the year that you really need to think through and be mindful with your purchases,” said personal finance educator Kelley Keehn. “Get back to basics, needs versus wants."

That's why this year's Black Friday deals are expected to draw in more people than in previous years.

"Based on Moneris’ predictive data, we are expecting to see Black Friday as the reigning champion of the busiest day of the year, and that's in transactions and dollar amount," David Litwin, spokesperson for Moneris Canada, told CTV News Thursday.

Tina Nikolaou and Varvara Nikolaou-Hilderman were among those who made an early morning pilgrimage to Calgary's CF Chinook Centre in search of sales.

"I would do it this year more than other years but I always love doing Black Friday and just seeing what the deals are," said Nikolaou. "Not necessarily always buying something if I don't need it, but just getting up and running. Getting the spirit of Christmas and seeing all this stuff and just having fun.

“During (the height of the pandemic), our shopping was all online. But last year, I was back in the mall. I just like being out. I don't like being at home doing the shopping. I like to see the items in person because sometimes you don't get what you need online."

"It's really exciting to be back and have the sales," added Nikolaou-Hilderman. "I've been saving my money so I can go out and get some of the nice stuff that I've been seeing online."

Darren Milne, CF Chinook Centre general manager, says there's reason for optimism regarding this year's turnout.

"We feel like it's going to be a big year for Black Friday because of the pandemic. We expect there to be a lot of people out for Black Friday. What's on people's minds is inflation and the cost of goods."

According to the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales have propelled November ahead of December as the busiest shopping month of the year in Canada.

Boxing Day had previously been the nation's peak shopping day.

"It's really a week-long event, it's not really just Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it's really a week-long showcase event that continues throughout the holiday season," Michelle Wasylyshen, with RCC, told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

“We are seeing that most consumers don’t want to shop a few days before Christmas and they want to avoid the hectic rush, so November does now seem to be the busiest time when people are getting their shopping done."

Analysts say that because of the pandemic, consumers also bought a lot of laptops and home office equipment over the last few years, which could be good news if you're looking for deals on electronics.

Paying attention to social media accounts and promo codes will help anyone looking to take advantage of online sales. That said, sticking to a strict budget is a good idea, despite some tempting sales events.

"We're going into a very expensive holiday season and I know that temptation is around every corner," said Keehn. "ou open up any of your social media, you open up your email, and there's a deluge of incredible deals and sales and things of that sort.

"You have to stop, especially for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and just say, ‘Look, is that something that you would have bought or needed or even intended on having?’ Are you only being enticed because of the sale?"

With files from CTV News' Pat Foran and Chris Campbell