Stores opened even before the crack of dawn, but many Boxing Day shoppers were lining up as early as the night before, some admittedly even forsaking Christmas dinners to be first in line and take advantage of the savings. As the day wore on, the dangerously icy roads and miserable rain still didn’t stop shoppers from flocking in droves.
While many retailers were hopeful that this Boxing Day would provide a much needed boost to year-end sales, and for some it did, many have already been offering low post-Christmas prices since as early as late November in an effort to draw crowds.
The decline in our dollar was predicted to lessen the competition with American online competitors for our retailers this Christmas season. Nevertheless, in spite of the weakened loonie and overall economic recession, online shopping held strong. Amazon is reporting that the 2008 holiday season has been the online retailer’s best yet. On its peak day, December 15th, 2008, Amazon received over 6.3 million orders. E-commerce giant PayPal is also reporting better sales for 2008. An Ipsos-Reid survey to over 1,000 consumers commissioned by PayPal Canada concluded a 40% increase in online shoppers from two years ago.
However your shopping was done, whether you chose to stay inside and spend time with family or brave the crowds and shop til you drop, we at Northbridge hope your holiday season has been safe and happy. All the best in 2009.
