At 2:30 a.m., Quy Duong was the only person in the parking lot at Lime Ridge Mall. He arrived that early and stayed for four and a half hours for one reason: Black Friday deals.
"I'm doing Christmas shopping, mostly," said the 19-year-old Mohawk College student. "I'm tight on money and all of my friends and family love H&M."
Duong succeeded. He was first in a lineup of about 20 shoppers at H&M when its doors opened at 7 a.m. sharp Friday. The store advertised deals on big banners hanging in window displays.
'What our retailers have done is say: How can we compete with what's going on in the U.S.?'- Sheila Jennings, Lime Ridge Mall general manager
Lime Ridge Mall estimates Duong was one of more than 300 deal-seekers for Hamilton's version of Black Friday, a post-American Thanksgiving shopping tradition. It's a day that sees discounts and promotions like no other across the U.S.
Last year in the U.S., more than 89 million people went shopping on Black Friday, according to the National Retail Federation, spending about $58 billion. Canadian retailers, trying to keep shoppers and their spending here in Canada are new to the shopping event, but there's proof local shoppers are buying in.
Hamilton's Black Friday shopping survival guide
At Lime Ridge's pilot Black Friday event last year, sales were up by 45 per cent, said Lime Ridge's general manager, Sheila Jennings. Traffic increased by 32 per cent – higher than the 22 per cent increase mall property manager Cadillac-Fairview saw across Ontario.
Lime Ridge certainly didn't look anything like the pictures you'd see from U.S. malls on Friday– there was no trampling, hair-grabbing or $10 slow-cookers – but the mall was none-the-less happy with the turnout.
"It has been busier than I expected," said Jennings "Last year, we estimated about 300 footsteps in the building before 8 a.m. This year based on what we've seen that will be a much higher number."
Early lineups
Every store in the mall opened at 7 a.m. with about 80 per cent offering deals, Jennings said. She saw line-ups outside stores like Old Navy, Forever 21, Eddie Bauer and H&M before opening.
"What we saw today was definitely the consumer is looking for a good promotion offer, whether that is a gift with purchase, a buy-one-get-one or a straight discount," Jennings said. "What our retailers have done is say: 'How can we compete with what's going on in the U.S.?'"
While shoppers Nancy Schappert and Lily Chin can't deny the deals south of the border are better, they'd rather stay at home.
Supporting local economy
"I think it's really important to support Canada, to support our local economy, so it's worth it to come here," said Schappert. "Canadians are really smart as retailers to offer some great Black Friday sales to keep customers in Canada."
Chin has shopped Black Friday in the U.S., leaving Hamilton at 3:30 a.m. to make it across the border to get the specials, but it's not something she's interested in doing again.
"It was hectic," said Chin. "It's a lot better now that they're trying to compete with American stores. If they're competitive, you might as well stay at home."
To differentiate from super, one-day deals offered in the U.S., Jennings said many retailers at Lime Ridge will maintain discounts throughout the weekend and she's expecting Hamiltonians to take advantage of that.
"We think that from a Hamilton perspective, we're a very strong community centre – very, very loyal, community-wise," she said. "It was great to see the number of people here."
Are taking part in Black Friday?
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