Not a typically strong shopping day, this Sunday was made special by the date, December 26, which always makes cash registered ring louder, at least at some stores in the city.
Boxing Day bargain hunters were pressed up against the glass at locations across the city, especially those offering furniture and electronics. Some didn't bother to answer their phone, they were so busy, and others who did answer were clear that they only had a few seconds to talk due to all the customers.
"We were supposed to stay open until 3 but it was so busy we kept it open longer," said Jeff Fowler, manager of J&A Stereo. He said they were doing solid sales even without the so-called door-crasher deals that some stores dangled in front of the public.
"Our good, regular customers come over and get good deals, but we don't give everything away. We don't do lineups, we have better quality gear so we give 20 to 25 per cent off and we do price-matching as well, and we were steady all day."
Over at Staples Business Depot, there was a trail of early birds at the door waiting for the locks to turn in the morning, and the main item on people's wish lists was laptop computers.
"There was close to 100 people lined up at the door when we opened this morning," said a store representative named Pat. "It was busier than last year, for sure. And we are still in the middle of it, I have to go, there are customers waiting. We will have deals on all week, we expect it to be busy like this all week."
City Furniture also did brisk business on Sunday, and they have scheduled another big jolt of great deals in the days ahead.
"We have a big sale again on New Year's Day that is about the same as Boxing Day," said Bev Paquette. "It has been a little slower than last year up until this point, but we were steady all day (on Boxing Day). It was steady until noon, then a noon rush, and still steady in the afternoon. They are after furniture, appliances, and a lot of electronics. The numbers in here today were about the same as last year, it was a very good day."
Many stores still observe Boxing Day's statutory holiday status. While it is known as a great day for bargains at many outlets, it retains an undercurrent of the Christmas season.
"It has certainly evolved over time," said Roy Spooner, president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, and in his 45th year as an active Chamber member.
He had vivid memory of the times when all stores were shut on Dec. 26, but when his kids were in their youth they started lining up at unheard-of early hours in order to be among the first into electronics stores that were advertising massive discounts.
"Even that was an abnormality back then," said Spooner. "It was a special thing for certain businesses but not most. For years, Boxing Day was primarily about visiting family and friends, it was the second day of celebrating Christmas.
"It was electronics stores that started the evolution towards sales to blow out all the items they couldn't sell during the Christmas shopping season, and then it evolved further and stores started to also get in special inventory for Boxing Day sales events. So it was a chance to get rid of a bunch of stuff you were left with, and then it became a chance to bring in some brand new inventory. For the customers it is an opportunity for some amazing deals, and for the stores that do that it can generate a burst of revenue."
Brent Barr, a retail expert at Ryerson University, told Canadian Press he predicts consumers will spend more in this year's sales than they did in 2009.
"We've come out of the recession, generally speaking the economic situation in Canada has been stronger," and Canadians are taking on more debt than ever, he said Sunday.
"All those things would say to me that we'll have an increase in spending this year," both for Christmas and Boxing Day.
