Retailers aiming to reverse Black Friday cross-border flow

At least one Metro Vancouver shopping centre is hoping to reverse the cross-border shopping trend for Black Friday this year.

The MacArthur Glen outlet mall, which opened not far from the U.S. border in Richmond earlier this year, is hoping to attract up to 5,000 U.S. bargain hunters this Friday.

General manager Robert Thurlow says the shopping centre has been advertising in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett, trying to lure U.S. shoppers north by convincing them their dollar can go further in Canada.

"We'd be having equivalent offers, so for example if the store is 40 per cent off the entire store in the U.S., it'd be 40 per cent off the entire store in Canada," said Thurlow.

On an average weekend, about 15,000 shoppers visit the mall, says Thurlow, but this weekend he's hopeful cross-border shoppers will help double that number.

Thurlow says his staff has already noticed a number of U.S. license plates in the parking lot.

Stepping up their game

Retail expert Doug Stephens agrees Canadian retailers are getting very competitive, starting sales earlier, with bigger mark-downs for the Black Friday shopping frenzy.

"Canadian retailers I think are stepping up, I mean they're really stepping up their discounting activities. We have a slowing economy. I think retailers are really trying to get out in front of that and make the most of this holiday season," said Stephens.

Canadian consumer habits are also changing when it comes to the shopping event, because the slumping dollar has fewer people heading south for sales.

Malls in Ontario close to the U.S. border are also trying to reverse flow of cross border shoppers, with Black Friday ad campaigns on Facebook selling the virtues of the favourable exchange rate to bargain hunting Americans.