Retailers feel Black Friday pressure as Canadians expected to tighten their spending

Businesses are under pressure to get in on Black Friday sales and start them early as Canadian shoppers are expected to pull back this holiday season. 

That means more of what we’ve seen in recent years: businesses extending their promotions to offer deals from after Halloween until late December, according to the Retail Council of Canada (RCC).

“[Black Friday] is now more like a season than a day,” said Santo Ligotti, vice president of marketing and membership with the RCC. 

“Smart retailers are going to continue to have offers throughout that period to continue to attract [shoppers].” 

And for some small stores, in order to keep pace with the larger industry and match consumer expectations, they’re now offering Black Friday deals. 

But this year brings a major challenge: rising prices have people planning to spend less this holiday season. While not representative of the overall Canadian population, several recent surveys highlight that trend. 

One recent survey from the Bank of Canada, also found that all of the uncertainty from trade action is weighing heavily on consumers, “significantly dampening their spending expectations.” 

Because of all of this, Ligotti with the RCC said price is king this season. 

“Price is the top filter for Canadians. They’re waiting for sales, price matching and buying discounted,” he said. 

In a bid to appeal to people’s pocketbooks, some small businesses, like local gift and homegoods shop Wolf & Rebel in Windsor, Ont., are pushing their first ever Black Friday sale. 

“With the tariffs and everything, our prices have increased, and I think that it’s just become not as affordable for most people,” said shop owner Annie Vanrivong. 

“People are struggling paying their groceries. So coming to a place like ours, I feel like it is a luxury, like buying these little knickknacks.” 

Vanrivong says the one-day only, up to 50 per cent discount won’t do all that much for her bottom line, but she hopes it boosts foot traffic in her store and sells items that aren’t moving from the shelves. 

Homegoods and furniture store owner Fanny Vergnolle de Villers, of VdeV, says this is only her second year doing a Black Friday sale, but she realizes it’s what customers expect these days. 

“It seems like people were disappointed if we weren’t doing anything, they were really expecting something, because the larger companies are doing it,” said Vergnolle de Villers. 

While she said sales have been going well for her three stores in Quebec and Ontario, she says she’s noticed customers are on a “tighter budget.”

Big box stores have been diving into Black Friday for years now, but recently many are spreading out their promotions — what used to be one or two days of deals, is now weeks. 

Best Buy, which usually has lineups out the door on Black Friday, says its goal in pushing deals across several weeks is to ease congestion on the actual day. 

This year, Best Buy Canada said sales started on Nov. 3, which is around the same time as last year. Central store leader Joe Colucci, says while Best Buy’s lowest offers can be found now up until Nov. 28, the company will have discounts up to the New Year. 

“We’re trying to give the customer a little bit of space so they can come in and shop a little bit earlier,” Colucci said. 

Meanwhile Walmart says it’s offering some steeper deals compared to last year, but is expecting sales to stay strong over the next several weeks.

“[The] holiday is off to a pretty good start,” said John David Rainey, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart Inc. in the company’s latest earnings call. 

“Everything that we’ve seen so far makes us optimistic and encouraged about customers and members leaning into the seasonal events and holiday shopping period.”  

Walmart Canada said it started offering early Black Friday sales a few weeks ago and that customers can expect discounts up to 35 per cent off, with steeper discounts on certain products. 

“I think there’s something for everyone in the household and for all different types of budgets,” said Morgan Ferris, Walmart Canada’s VP of merchandising for entertainment, electronics and toys. 

As for whether the Buy Canadian movement might help boost sales for small shops, Ligotti with the RCC said that sentiment seems to have softened since the beginning of the year. 

“If they’re going to push ‘Made in Canada’ or Canadian products, what we heard from Canadians now is that it’s still about the price,” said Ligotti. 

And that’s in line with the Bank of Canada’s recent consumer survey, which found that many respondents said they weren’t willing to pay more than 10 per cent for a made-in-Canada product. 

Despite this, small business owner Vergnolle de Villers hopes Canadians dedicate some of their budget to local brands. 

“At least if people are doing the effort to do 10 per cent of their buying or just a little one thing or two things that you buy, it’s already very appreciated,” she said.