Black Friday isn't a one-day deal anymore, but is it worth the hype?

With the Christmas shopping season underway, Saskatoon shoppers and retailers are being drawn into the U.S. Black Friday frenzy this week.

As shopping habits have changed over the years, the sales event has become part of Canadian shopping habits too, but how much people actually save is debateable.

Lily Armbruster came out to cash in on black Friday deals on an iPhone, and from the research she’s done, she’s getting a big discount by buying this week.

“The deals are substantial. You can save 600 bucks on the phone,” Armbruster told CTV News.

Lily Armbruster came out to cash in on black Friday deals on an iPhone, and from the research she’s done, she’s getting a big discount by buying this week. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)Black Friday falls just after Thanksgiving in the U.S., and the black distinction is given because it’s the time when retailers move from the red into the black.

 

For small Saskatchewan business Alie and Elsie Jewelry, Black Friday is an opportunity to make sales.

“We have got a lot of sales coming in. We’ve got a Black Friday week sale going on, so everything is buy three get three free,” says Charity Janzen with Alie & Elsie Jewelry, which has a location in the Lawson Heights Mall and a few other shops in the province.

A business expert with the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan says the reason Canada has rapidly joined the Black Friday craze in large part is because big retailers operate in both countries and runs sales across the board, plus online shopping has no border.

“In the states, Amazon started with Prime Day in mid October. Now that Remembrance Day is gone, so get the Christmas decorations up and let’s get ready for Black Friday,” David Williams, Associate Professor at Edwards told CTV News.

This made-up week to sell and buy massive amounts of product seems to be extending longer leading to Black Friday fatigue, says Williams

“All last week was pre-Black Friday, this week is Black Friday week with Black Friday starting on Friday,” Lee Drager, with Quarks Shoes said.

“Don’t forget after Black Friday there will be cyber-Monday and small business Tuesday and then we’re into the Christmas shopping frenzy and it won’t stop until Boxing Day,” Williams says.

Drager sees shoppers getting savvy and holding out for the best deal.

“They try on today and then come back tomorrow or Friday, hoping for the best deal.”

The question is, are these deals that good and worth all the hype?

“We kind of open up our wallets, we aren’t that smart, and sometimes you get better deals at other times of the year,” Williams says.

So while this business expert isn’t buying it, Armbruster is. She’s taking home a Christmas gift for herself — an iPhone 15 Pro.