Diane Landry trundled through Canadian Tire with a cartload of Christmas goodies for her grandkids and children, enjoying the Black Friday bargains Saturday afternoon.
And the Pictou resident picked a good time to visit New Glasgow’s Highland Square Mall: its various shops, from Canadian Tire to the bookstore offered plenty of half-price deals on household items.
“Usually I’m buying just about everything and anything, I’ve got toys – I have a hair cutter, anything that I need,” said Landry.
Unlike some Black Friday shoppers who hunt Internet deals from the comfort of home, Landry preferred showing up at Canadian Tire and browsing the aisles.
“I don't do a lot of online shopping,” said Landry.
Cameron Hawley, one of the shoppers checking out the Black Friday deals at the mall, on Friday. (Fram Dinshaw/The News)
Cameron Hawley, who came to Highland Square from Trenton with his young child, was also on the lookout for a good deal.
Unlike Landry, Hawley enjoyed both online shopping and in-person bargain hunting.
In recent years, local and chain stores are being increasingly forced to compete with online retail giants like Amazon, or the recent launch of Facebook’s new buy and sell service.
But shoppers can still enjoy the best of both worlds.
“We do both. I do a lot of online shopping but I like going to stores and seeing the product before you buy it,” said Hawley as his young child enjoyed a pre-Christmas visit with Santa at the mall.
Back at Canadian Tire, storeowner Chris Kondracki said this Black Friday saw TVs and cooking utensils fly off the shelves starting on Red Thursday, the day before. Toys for children were also popular.
“This year with the Instant Pots, they were a real big hit,” said Kondracki.
Saturday afternoon still had many deals but the store was quiet at lunchtime, the big crowds having descended on Red Thursday and Black Friday itself.
While many local shoppers were eager for deals, the mood in New Glasgow remained civilized, despite crowded stores and lineups.
In the United States, where the Black Friday trend began, shopping malls and big box stores sometimes become battlegrounds as shoppers fight and brawl over discounted goods.
