Black Friday 2014’s best Canadian deals: A look at what’s on offer where this year
National Post Staff | November 27, 2014 | Last Updated: Nov 28 8:57 AM ET
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AP Photo/PA, David ParryU.K. shoppers jostle for Black Friday deals in London.
Black Friday in Canada will never achieve the gun-toting, pepper-spraying, early morning deal-hunting of its U.S. counterpart, but there are some polite, Canadian deals to be had.
Industry forecasts are predicting consumer restraint this holiday season may render, which may undercut the shopping tradition’s impact on companies’ bottom lines.
One of the country’s largest shopping mall operators, Cadillac Fairview, has responded to retailer requests by opening 21 properties early on Friday so it can lure customers who might be tempted to go south for deep discounts. Cadillac Fairview’s Eaton Centre in Toronto — the busiest mall in Canada — opened at 6 a.m. Friday, while other properties across the country welcomed customers through the doors at either 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.
“I don’t think 2014 is going to be a big advance over last year,” said David Gray, principal at the Vancouver-based agency. “Sales moved so fast from almost zero in Canada in 2010, I think we are already starting to see a bit of a peak. The industry and media pundits have created a focal point around this, and it has created heightened expectations among shoppers.”
But the expectations of great deals often exceed the value of the deals themselves, Mr. Gray said, because retailers are not ready to offer too many items at a deep discount this early in the season. “You will see a few key items at a decent discount and some door-crashers, but there will not be much breadth to it.”
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, things are already off to a hectic start. Here is the scene at a U.S. Wal-Mart in North Carolina:
Here are some of the best Canadian deals this year:
Online computer retailerNewegg.ca, is offering a “Black Friday” sale that’s already on and offers different deals every hour. In years past, during the actual Black Friday New Egg offers deals that are above and beyond what they offer during the “Month of Black Fridays” that surround it.
Amazon.ca is, much like years past offering a rotating series of deals (on now and continuing through “Cyber Monday”). Deals rotate approximately every twelve hours and the next set of offers are shown proceeding the the old ones going down.
Best Buy will open its stores at 6 a.m. local time on Friday and 9 a.m. local time on Saturday in addition to offering a raft of offers on “Cyber Monday.” Some of the best deals on Friday include a PS4 “Last of Us” bundle for $449 ($50 off) and a Vizio 50″ 1080p television for $499. Online deals start at bestbuy.ca at 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday night.
Much like Best Buy, Future Shop will open at 6 a.m. local time on Friday and 9 a.m. local time on Saturday and will have online offers starting at 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday night. It’s like they have the same corporate owners or something. Above the fold deals at Future Shop include a $799 LG 4K television ($200 off) at “doorcrasher” quantities and a 13″ Macbook Air for $999 ($200 off).
IKEA has a very limited number of items on sale for the Black Friday weekend, which is still significantly more than the almost no sales the company has at any other time. The IKEA deals are on Friday the POANG armchair is $59 (normally $89), on Saturday NYVOLL queen bedframe is $149 (normally $299) and on Sunday the KALLAX shelving unit is $39.99 (normally $59.99). The deals are store-only.
The Microsoft Store (including the newly opened store in Toronto’s Eaton Centre) offer a bevy of deals on Microsoft hardware and software products, though no specific doorcrashers. The best deal seems to be a $50 off and free game offer on one of their many Xbox One bundles. The deals apply online and in-store. Microsoft is also known for offering “surprise” sales on Black Friday offering newish Xbox games for fractions of their official retail prices.
The Real Canadian Superstore offers a few doorcrashers, but there’s a catch. All weekend with a series of incredibly cheap televisions at the door. The trick? The doorcrasher price only applies to the first one sold each day before the price goes up by about a hundred bucks. Superstore has a similar deal on Saturday and Sunday for a $50 Blu-ray player that goes to $89 after the first one is sold.
Toys Я Us is offering a set of deals over the weekend, and select stores are opening up at 7 a.m. local time (find out which ones here). The big hook of the Toys Я Us deals seems to be the wide selection 50% off deals.
Walmart, more than many of the other stores here, seems to actually be offering a large number of for-real discounted items. The top-of-the-line doorcrasher is a $149 720p television and Walmart is offering its $449 PS4 Last of Us bundle with a $75 Walmart giftcard. Similar deals can also be had at Walmart’s website starting at midnight Friday morning.
In the Greater Toronto Area, former mayor Mel Lastman’s Bad Boy Furniture has a huge set of Black Friday deals, including a 10-piece cookware set with the purchase of various fridges, ranges or dishwashers and upwards of $500 off several different major kitchen appliances.
Canadian Tire has extended Black Friday into Thursday with several deals (CT stores open at 7 a.m. on both Thursday and Friday). One offer is for an electronic “Roomba” robot vacuum cleaner for just $170 instead of the regular $279. Canadian Tire’s “Cyber Sale” starts at midnight Saturday morning.
With files from Hollie Shaw, Financial Post
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