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%, down 11% from last year, while the average U.S. markdown was unchanged at 28%.
The Retail Council of Canada has said it expects the average Canadian shopper to spend $972 on holiday shopping, up $73 or 8%, from last year.
It predicted 40% of that spending would happen on Black Friday and 36% during Cyber Monday/Week.