Saskatchewan Black Friday deals mark the start of holiday shopping

WATCH: Stores are offering big discounts this Black Friday, but with the cost of living still high, will shoppers be able to take advantage? Global's Jessica Durling has more.

Despite it being the biggest shopping day of the year, those Black Friday rushes don’t seem to be as big as they used to be.

David Williams, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Saskatchewan, says a large part of the reason stores don’t have as big a lineup anymore is because of the move to digital marketing and sales.

“It’s expanded beyond Black Friday to like a two-week kind of activity,” Williams said. “It’s become dissipated and there have been a lot less riots in the stores than there used to be. Now a lot of it has moved online and it’s the kind of the official start to the Christmas shopping season.”

And while you likely are getting a good deal at local stores, Williams said the company is still making sure they get a healthy cut of the sales.

“You are often saving 40 or 50 per cent, but it’s likely there’s a markup of 50 per cent so the retail is still breaking even,” Williams said.

“If you’re shopping online on Amazon, they use dynamic pricing. It’s likely that the price will be cheaper sometime else during the year, and they’ve actually raised the price just a few months before Black Friday and lowered it for Black Friday. So it gives the illusion you’re getting a bargain.”

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But regardless of how much you are saving, Williams argues you are still saving money so it is worth it to purchase items at this time.

It’s something a few shoppers at Regina’s Cornwall Mall seem to agree with.

“I am buying gifts and I am purposely downtown for Black Friday because I hope there are some good deals,” Karem Novack said.

“I got grandchildren and nieces and nephews galore, so I am looking for them,” Stanford Pewean said.

Inflation has also put a limit on spending dollars for many families according to economist Jason Childs.

“Incomes are lower and limited when you’re having more and more claims on your income due to inflation particularly,” Childs said. “That said, we’re also going to be really hungry for deals. I think the effect of price cuts are going to be larger this year than maybe it has in the past.”