SmartHomeOwners

TORONTO: The promise of big discounts lured thousands of Canadians to malls and stores on Boxing Day, with shoppers braving massive crowds and long lineups to take part in the annual sales.

In Toronto, shoppers descended on the Eaton Centre starting at 8 a.m., some travelling more than an hour to be there when the mall opened.

Nisa Paramita, a 19-year-old student in Hamilton, woke up at 5:30 a.m. so she could get to the mall early for her first Boxing Day shopping trip.

Paramita, who came to Canada from Indonesia in January, said she was surprised to see so many people vying for deals.

And though by mid-morning, she'd only bought a few vests and a pair of earmuffs, she said the experience was worth it. ``I'll come back next year,'' she said cheerfully.

Stores hawking big-ticket items such as electronics were popular with bargain-hunters.

Best Buy warned customers to expect average lineups of 500 people at each of its 70 stores across Canada. The chain's Toronto locations opened at 6 a.m.

Boxing Day is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with retailers typically offering major bargains to lure consumers.

Brent Barr, a retail expert at Ryerson University, predicts consumers will spend more in this year's sales than they did in 2009.

``We've come out of the recession, generally speaking the economic situation in Canada has been stronger,'' and Canadians are taking on more debt than ever, he said Sunday.

``All those things would say to me that we'll have an increase in spending this year,'' both for Christmas and Boxing Day.

Many retailers launched their Boxing Day sales early online, leading some experts to predict less traffic in stores.

But Barr said most shoppers get a rush out of the chaos during Boxing Day sales.

Those taking advantage of the online deals are probably put off by the crowded malls, and wouldn't have ventured there anyway, he added.

In downtown Montreal, more than a hundred people were waiting outside a Future Shop store an hour before it opened, even though the same discounts have been available online since Dec. 24.

``It's a social event and a great day for shopping,'' said Thierry Lopez of Future Shop.

``There are some people who really want to come in the store, and touch the products and come with the family, and we've got some other people who prefer to stay at home, and shop online.''

Ali Ismael, 19, was the first in line outside the store. Ismael, who is visiting from Pakistan for the holidays, arrived at 7:30 a.m., nearly five hours before the electronics store was scheduled to open.

He said the long wait in the cold was worth it to get a camera that's $300 off.

``I'd buy it online, but I'm not here for long,'' he said.

``I'm leaving tonight, so I thought it would be better to wait and go back home happy.''

Ryan McFadden, a 24-year-old student at George Brown College in Toronto, said he did most of his shopping online but couldn't resist taking a peek at the sales in person.

``There's always more deals to have,'' said McFadden, who planned to visit the entire Eaton Centre before calling it a day. ``It's still early, I'm still looking.''

For one trio in Edmonton, Boxing Day shopping is about more than getting good bargains.

``It's tradition,'' says Diane Presakarchuk, who was shopping with her daughter, Carly, 21, and her mother, Marika Pungor, who was visiting from Kelowna, B.C.

Pungor got a great deal on carry-on luggage, she bought two.

``The luggage was a good buy, everything was 50 per cent off, and then there was a buy one, get one 50 per cent off,'' said Diane Presakarchuk.

The luggage will come in handy when the three travel to Hungary in the spring, an early university graduation gift for Carly.

Thousands of shoppers in downtown Vancouver hoisted umbrellas to keep the drizzling rain from ruining parcels, as wind swept crumpled Boxing Day sale flyers along the streets.

Lineups weren't snaking too long for most stores, though there were several hundred people waiting outside the Adidas shop on the Granville Street strip, which offered merchandise at 50 per cent off.

Linus Wong and friend Matt Nowell, both 16, said the Christmas money they received as gifts from their parents isn't stretching as far this year.

``Maybe (stores) feel they can get more money off us on Boxing Day,'' Wong mused. ``I'm a broke teen, so what am I going to do, I'm just like, 'Oh cool, sale!'''

Nowell said he's annoyed by the trend of many stores now holding Boxing Week sales.

``We used to be excited about going out to get sales, and fighting people for stuff,'' he said. ``(Longer sales) kind of kills the entire feel of Boxing Day.''