‘They’ve done their research’: What to expect from Boxing Day shoppers this year

Business analyst Ian Lee speaks about the competitive advantage of having brick and mortar stores and the shopping habits of Canadians this holiday season.

Boxing Day, once the biggest day on the Canadian retail calendar, is still important for sellers, but they’ve had to adapt to shoppers who are less impulsive and more intentional than they used to be, experts say.

This shift has coincided with the rise in online shopping, which has allowed consumers to research products and search for the best deals before going out to make physical purchases.

And with more and more shoppers heading straight for the most popular products, a retail analyst says it’s best to go early to take advantage of Boxing Week deals before stores run out.

“You probably want to go out today if you’re going to go out, just because the inventory might be depleted,” Bruce Winder told CTV News Channel on Friday.

“I jumped on the Amazon and Walmart and Canadian Tire websites this morning, and they all have some pretty good deals … if you kind of wait, you might miss out on the inventory, it might be sold out. So, if you’ll see something you like, it’s best to buy it as soon as possible.”

Winder said that across Canada, he expects Boxing Day to be “pretty brisk” this year, as shoppers continue to flock to deals, with many having saved some of their planned holiday shopping for products with post-Christmas discounts.

“They’re probably not buying as much at regular price,” he said.

“They’re saving up that money and really going after the deals ... so that’s something that I think you’ll see play well into Boxing Day today.”

According to Vividata, an organization that collects and analyzes consumer behaviour in Canada, Boxing Week is set to see a similar rate of participation this year compared to 2024, with 8.6 million Canadians expected to make purchases.

But unlike November’s Black Friday, typically the biggest shopping day of the year in Canada and the U.S., Boxing Day tends to attract shoppers who have already made up their minds about what they want to buy, according to Vividata’s president and CEO.

“Most of our respondents who are heavy participants in Boxing Day shopping, they’ve done their research,” Pat Pellegrini told CTV News Channel on Friday.

“They like social media that has reviews, they know exactly what they’re looking for. I think it’s a really relevant holiday, and it probably will go on for the week, and people will be looking for those precise items; it’s less impulse and more purposeful shopping.”

Vividata’s research also found that over the course of the entire holiday shopping season, the vast majority of Canadians made at least some of their purchases at brick-and-mortar stores, even as online shopping continues to gain more of a foothold.

“For those who said they would participate in Boxing Day shopping … in person is very high,” said Pellegrini.

“Not only did Boxing Day participants say they were more online than ever the last year, but they also say they visited more malls, so you’ve got quite a mix. I think it will be a little bit heavy towards in-person, but a lot more online than you’d normally see.”