Black Friday shopping fuelling plenty of sales across Canadian retailers

Shoppers take advantage of Black Friday deals in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi)

Canadian shoppers have been visiting malls and logging onto retailer websites as Black Friday sweeps through the country.

Shopify Inc., an Ottawa-based company whose e-commerce software powers thousands of retail businesses, says by noon, the average cart in Canada totalled $220.63.Last year, Shopify calculated it was $172.80 by mid-day on Black Friday.

Top purchasing cities within the country this year included Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and the most popular product categories were makeup, T-shirts, skincare, vitamins and men's underwear. 

Data from tech firm Salesforce found the average discount being offered in Canada was about 21 per cent, down 11 per cent from last year, while the average U.S. markdown was unchanged at 28 per cent.

The Retail Council of Canada has said it expects the average Canadian shopper to spend $972 on holiday shopping, up $73 or eight per cent, from last year. 

It predicted 40 per cent of that spending would happen on Black Friday and 36 per cent during Cyber Monday/Week.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.