Retailers around Nanaimo are upbeat about Christmas season sales and shifts in shopping habits.
This year consumers kicked off the Christmas rush on Black Friday on Nov. 25. The U.S. shopping tradition that made its way north of the border several years ago has migrated major sale figures, by some accounts, from Boxing Day to the end of November.
Fred Alteen, Canadian Tire general manager, said in spite of new competition from Lowes, which opened at Nanaimo North Town Centre in late summer, his store had a strong Christmas season he credits with high customer satisfaction and that Canadian Tire is one of the few Canadian retailers.
There was a higher-than-normal demand for Christmas tree stands, outdoor lights and decorations this year.
“Outside decorations were extremely strong this year,” Alteen said. “The biggest thing that we had a run on were those fancy laser lights that you shine on the front of your house. I think the demographics dictate that nobody wants to climb up on their house anymore.”
Sales at Long and McQuade’s Nanaimo store had sales about on par with 2015, but this year keyboards and ukuleles, which Lindsay Ward, account services representative, said were “flying out the door” were big sellers because they’re inexpensive, portable, easy to play and come in lots of different colours.
“It’s kind of one of those instruments where you can’t be sad, playing a ukulele,” Ward said.
Thomas Gemma, Sears Nanaimo general store manager, said sales overall, numbers of transactions and the number of items per transaction were all up for 2016 and more people now buy on Black Friday than Boxing Day.
Smart phones and social media have changed how people shop and Sears encourages online comparison shopping.
“People are perpetually on their phones, checking online prices and looking for us to match them in-store,” Gemma said. “We can’t be denying what people are doing. There’s behaviours that are taking place and there’s a shift in behaviours and we’re good with that.”
Flying Fish store manager Heather Wetmore said sales were on par with 2015, but her customers bucked the Black Friday trend by waiting until mid December to do their Christmas buying.
“There were fewer people downtown, but that might have been a backlash against the [metered] parking. Those that did come in were happy to be shopping downtown and outside the box,” Wetmore said.
She said customers bought fewer items, considered purchases more carefully and spent more money per item. Home accents, such as pillows, candles, art and puzzles, and kitchen gadgets were hot sellers.
“Our kitchen gadget wall took a beating,” Wetmore said. “People love it for stocking stuffers and some unusual little gadget that they come across.”