Frigid temperature doesn’t stop shoppers

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This article was published 26/12/2017 (2984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite an extreme cold warning, some Winnipeggers still braved near -30 C temperatures to get their Boxing Day deals.

At 7 a.m. Tuesday, the parking lot at Best Buy on St. James Street was full of shoppers rushing from their cars to the warmth of electronics store, while some were already streaming out with their arms full of electronics.

Greg Cruz, a 31-year-old architectural drafter, searches out deals in stores every year — but this Boxing Day, he waited in his car for the doors to open up instead of waiting outside in a frigid lineup.

“I didn’t wait in line, but I usually do,” he said.

He said lots of people waited in their cars, heaters on, until the line thinned out when the store opened at 6 a.m.

Cruz said he shops in person instead of online because he thinks it’s more convenient — he had his new iPad already in hand as he stood in the cold wearing just a light coat and no tuque.

“It’s quick. You don’t have to wait for shipping,” he said.

And for him, he said it’s just good fun. He goes looking for deals every year.

Cruz said he was going out with friends to look for a new pair of shoes later in the day.

Ravdeep Kambo was out with friends Tuesday morning looking for deals. He said he went to Best Buy because he couldn’t find the headphones he wanted online.

“I wasn’t really looking for anything, I just got some headphones,” he said. “It was already sold out online — that’s the only reason.”

After Best Buy, the friends went across the street to Polo Park. In the parking lot at the mall, cars were congregated at parking spots near entrances as shoppers dashed through the frigid air to the warmth of the stores.

“We just came to see what we could find,” said Kambo.

Although some stores were bustling Tuesday and sales at retail stores continue this week, research shows fewer Manitobans planned on seeking Boxing Day bargains than expected.

A survey from early December by Prairie Research Associates showed 26 per cent of Manitobans aged 18-29 who make less than $40,000 a year planned on lining up in store on Boxing Day, compared with 11 per cent of people who make $40,000 to $70,000. Women were less likely to say they wanted to shop than men.

The researchers surveyed 800 people across the province.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca