Shoppers hunt for Black Friday deals at Tanger Outlets in Ottawa
Years ago, Canadians drove to the United States to get the best deals. Now, Black Friday has become so popular here, it prompted some to drive from Montreal to Tanger Outlets in Kanata.
"Better deals, less taxes," a shopper from Montreal said. "I think the sales here are worth it. 70-80 per cent off is worth it."
Some stores were offering deals of 50, 60 and even 70 per cent off on Friday.
And Black Friday sales brought out huge crowds at malls and stores throughout the city.
"I got some shoes and I got two pairs of pants," said 11-year-old Noah Phamisith.
"We got some stuff at Lululemon and Under Armour; half off everything," said another shopper.
With high interest rates and inflation, the Black Friday deals started weeks ago. Some say they should have come earlier to get the same deals.
"They were decent but I guess they were all week so it might have been a better day to come when it's less busy."
Some stores had small line-ups outside. But the longest wait was at the Nike outlet, with some waiting up to an hour in line at the cash to pay for their items at a 30 per cent discount.
Sara Sweeting and Angela Grayson loading their trunk after shopping at Tanger Outlets in Ottawa. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
Sara Sweeting and Angela Grayson drove in from Petawawa to be first in line when stores opened.
"I mean, we left our house at 4:30 this morning and we were here at 6 a.m." Sweeting said. "A good hour before everything opened and got in line right away."
And they saved a lot of money.
"Probably in all of our shopping about $700," Grayson said.
Tasha and Brenda Poulin are a mother and daughter duo that are no strangers to Black Friday deals.
“It's kind of a tradition," Tasha said.
Out of the hundreds of shoppers at Tanger, Tiffany Surprenant came extra prepared with her own shopping cart.
"I'm tired of carrying stuff and dropping it in the store," says Surprenant. "So we came prepared this year. This is an Amazon special."
Some here though, not too impressed with the deals they found.
"Some of the stores are better than others. Like you can get 50 plus 20 off. But then there's some stores that only give you 30. Not my cup of tea. I want more," Jean Johnston-McKitterick said with a laugh.
And the deals won’t end this weekend. Consumers can click for more discounts on Cyber Monday
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.