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Saskatchewan bargain hunters set their alarms extra early to take advantage of Black Friday specials.
However, one of the busiest shopping days of the year lacked some of the hysteria of previous years.
“I’m surprised it’s not busier,” said one Saskatoon shopper who was taking part in his first Black Friday experience. “I’m very anti-crowd. I thought, ‘Black Friday, I’d better get here early.’ ”
He walked away from Canadian Tire in Saskatoon happy having saved on his Christmas gift purchases.
Shoppers in Regina also noticed a significant dip in the usual Black Friday frenzy.
Dwight Tiefenbach got up bright and early to nab a deal on a miniature freezer. He saved about $200 on it and didn’t have to worry about standing elbow to elbow with other people.
“(There’s) no crowd this morning. I even talked to the cashier and she said it wasn’t busy at all. That’s fine with me,” he said.
“I thought I’d be in the middle of the rush, but there was no rush at all, so it worked out all right.”
One man made a drive of more than 270 kilometres to Regina just to buy an air fryer and some Christmas gifts.
“We came down from St. Brieux just to turn around and do Black Friday,” he said. “I wasn’t pushing anybody around, nobody was pushing me, so that’s a good thing.”
Dan Wilemic manages the Canadian Tire at Saskatoon’s Preston Crossing.
His store didn’t participate in Black Friday last year because of the pandemic. While a dozen or so shoppers were waiting outside before the doors opened at 7 a.m., the crowd is not what it used to be.
“We’re still seeing quite a lot of customer traffic compared to normal sales, but nothing like what we had in 2018 and 2019, ” Wilemic said.
“It’s still the biggest sales of the year (and the) lowest prices. I think we still offer the products people are wanting and we have the quantities to support the sales.”
Janet Tait has gone to the U.S. for Black Friday shopping in the past, and she was surprised at how different it was at home in Regina.
“I thought there would be more people here, but there’s not a lot,” she said.
She woke up a few hours earlier than she usually would but thought it was very much worth it.
“I got some slippers for $15 that were $25, so $10 off,” she said with a grin. “Every bit counts, especially at Christmastime.”
— With files from Brent Bosker and Dom Lucyk
