Inflation compounds small business stress in 'make-or-break' holiday shopping season
CBC
Black Friday unofficially launches retailers into the holiday shopping season, but this year the affordability crisis is ramping up pressure on shoppers and business owners.
Many stores started rolling out markdowns well before Black Friday in an effort to draw shoppers who might be spreading out their spending on limited budgets.
Retail analyst Craig Patterson said business cost concerns could put a damper on the deals.
"I don't think that retailers are able to give the same discounts that you may have seen in the past, in terms of some of the deep discounts that people might be expecting — 50-plus percent off."
Small businesses in Edmonton are busy trying to draw customers to their doors. But Cherie Klassen, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association, said anxiety is high.
"This is typically when it's already getting busy. Retailers aren't quite seeing it in our main streets," she said.
"I've certainly seen Black Friday sales signs out all over [Whyte] Avenue. But I think it's just a different scale that people don't always recognize for small businesses — they can't quite prepare like the big-box stores can."
Patterson said he still expects Black Friday to be a busy shopping time, but said it's harder to ignore the rising cost of living and running a business.
"This is a make-or-break time for a lot of retailers."
Even though inflation was high at this time in 2022 as well, "A lot of Canadians right now are concerned about the economy generally and where it's going, and are fearful," Patterson said.
"That's not something that we had last year as a factor."
Heather Thomson, the executive director of the Centre for Cities and Communities at the Alberta School of Business, said the stakes are high.
Retailers are expecting to make 20 to 30 per cent of their annual revenue in the next six weeks.
This shopping season, small businesses and local retailers also face a looming January deadline to start repaying government-backed pandemic loans.
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