Centretown retailers are introducing incentives such as valet parking to encourage residents to shop locally this Black Friday instead of travelling to the United States.
Black Friday is a major shopping day south of the border. It takes place the day after American Thanksgiving and kicks off the Christmas shopping season.
It’s called “Black Friday” because retailers tend to get “out of the red” that day and into the black on their account ledgers.
American stores offer major deals that attract Canadian shoppers, as well.
Last year, Black Friday sales in the U.S. drained an estimated $5 billion from the Canadian economy, according to the Bank of Montreal.
Ottawa resident Miranda Smith says she travels to northern New York for Black Friday because retailers offer better sales. To keep her shopping in Centretown, she says retailers would need to offer “lower prices and more of a variety.”
In order for Centretown retailers to prosper, however, price can’t be the only factor, says Les Gagne, executive director of the Sparks Street BIA.
Instead, he says Sparks Street is trying to attract shoppers by offering “a really cool experience.” The BIA is launching valet parking. They will also be selling packages such as a “Spa Day” on Sparks Street, with many different shops providing a portion of the experience.
Centretown retailers can also attract consumers if they offer specialized products that the big box stores in the U.S. don’t carry, says Christine Leadman, executive director of the Bank Street BIA.
Many Bank Street shops cater to people looking for products that are “not standard fare or mass-produced,” she says.
The city is also helping Centretown retailers succeed by investing in more transportation to the urban core, she says. Keeping people out of their cars and on the Centretown streets is important for business.
The number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. for Black Friday shopping is dropping. Last year, six per cent of Canadians made the trip compared with 18 per cent in 2011.
Ian Faris, president of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, expects the numbers will be even lower this year because of the recent fall in the value of the loonie.
Shopping in the U.S. on Black Friday became particularly popular for Canadians in 2007, when the loonie was at par with the American dollar for the first time in 30 years.
The loonie fell below 96 cents US at the beginning of this month, making cross-border shopping not as appealing.
Six-year-old shopping habits, however, aren’t easily broken.
That’s why the Yellow Pages Group launched a campaign last month encouraging Canadians to “Shop the Neighbourhood” on Nov. 30.
The campaign is trying to raise awareness about the effect that shoppers have on their own community’s economy.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne appears in a campaign video saying, “It’s really important to shop in our local stores because it builds community spirit. It also creates jobs. It’s the small businesses that are creating jobs in Ontario right now.”
When people are aware of the impact of their shopping choices, they are willing to make decisions based on more than just money, Faris says.
Even if some Centretown residents do make the trek south on Nov. 29, local businesses are hopeful that they can attract consumers on a long-term basis, says Gagne.
“Although Black Friday does exist, there’s still 364 days in the year that people have to shop.”