Saskatoon Best Buy sees significant foot traffic on Boxing Day

(Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

It was a busy day at Saskatoon’s 8th Street Best Buy location. Store leader, Rokhan Sarwar said December 26th is always the busiest day of the year for his team.

“We do see an increase in in-store traffic. A lot of customers, obviously being a holiday in Canada and a tradition in Canada, we generally see higher foot traffic, and it’s one of our busiest days of the year,” Sarwar said.

Preparation for the big day begins many weeks in advance. Staff said there was a lineup outside the door prior to the store opening on Friday.

“This year we have door crashers. So there’s a lot of emphasis on getting those ready for customers. And the preparation is long for a big day like this,” Sarwar said.

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While many people have taken advantage of online shopping throughout the holiday season, Sarwar said the store still sees a significant amount of foot traffic, although some of it is offset by those who prefer to ship digitally.

“A lot of customers do utilize online features where they’ve reserved an item online, but they still come to the store to pick it up. So we have a combination of both an online and an in-store shopping,” Sarwar said.

It’s certainly a long day for the staff at Best Buy, but Sarwar said his team comes ready to take on that challenge on the morning of the 26th.

“The good thing is the day before it’s Christmas Day, so they’re well rested. But it’s something they know that’s expected of them and they show up. They generally have high energy throughout the day. And we make sure we take care of our staff with breaks so that they’re full of energy to help our customers,” Sarwar said.