Snowstorm puts chill on Boxing Day shopping

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This article was published 27/12/2016 (3233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Colorado low that dumped about 30 centimetres of snow on the city blew out many retailers’ plans for a Boxing Day blowout.

Winnipeggers were urged to stay home to avoid clogging snowed-under streets, and bargain-hungry crowds were smaller than in previous years.

Environment Canada said southern Manitoba received from 20 to 33 centimetres of snow.

Deborah Green, general manager of CF Polo Park, said it was lot quieter Monday than usual for a Boxing Day.

Green said Boxing Day attendance at the mall has been increasing every year since she joined as GM in 2000. But this year’s drop of about 13,000 shoppers was steep.

Last year, 88,000 people hunted for deals at the mall on Boxing Day, which Green calls “the busiest day of the year.” This year, she estimates that number to be closer to 75,000, a decrease of about 15 per cent.

“Now it’s like a busy Saturday in December,” she said.

The mall was supposed to open at 8 a.m., but due to employees being delayed by the weather and other issues related to the storm, some stores didn’t let in customers until closer to 9:30.

As soon as she learned about the storm, Green put the mall’s snow plan into place, arranging for plows to clear the parking lot overnight.

No amount of preparation would have allowed businesses in Winnipeg to get through Boxing Day without losing a significant amount of customers.

City officials recommended all residents and motorists stay home Monday and “limit travel to essential trips only.”

“The storm has definitely had an impact on sales so far today,” said Rob Olinyk, the general manager of Advance Electronics.

“I don’t think this has ever happened to us on Boxing Day.”

Overnight snowfall made driving conditions treacherous on city streets, and made getting to the big sales less appealing for most.

Green wasn’t surprised to see that a considerable crowd braved the weather to shop.

“The people here are shoppers,” Green said. “They’re here to power shop.”

In Brandon, where traffic in rural areas was restricted by highway closures and people being snowed in, the situation was much the same as in Winnipeg.

Jon Hill, the sales manager for the local Leon’s Furniture store, didn’t have a bright outlook on sales for the day.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone,” Hill admitted.

Roughly 20 people were lined up at the store early Monday.

“We even had people who walked to the store,” Hill said.

— with files from Courtney Bannatyne

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca