Boxing Day Deals Canada: Shop Smart, Not Fast

Some Boxing Day prices are the year's lowest, some just follow a November price bump. The one test that tells them apart, and why it matters where you shop.

Boxing Day is the one day a year a lot of Canadians plan big purchases around, and retailers know it. Plenty of Boxing Day prices really are the lowest of the year. Some aren't. A regular price that crept up in November makes a December cut look bigger than it is, and the tag on the shelf can't tell you which kind you're looking at.

The only test that works

A percentage off means nothing until you know what it's a percentage of. Compare the Boxing Day price with what the item actually sold for over the past few months, earlier sales included. If it matches or beats the lowest of those, it's a real deal. If the item already hit a lower price in the fall, the Boxing Day tag is doing more marketing than discounting.

Where you shop changes the question

Retailers don't all set prices the same way, and on a day this busy it matters.

At Best Buy, Staples, and Sport Chek, the price is the same at every store. The only questions are whether it's a good price and whether a store near you still has one.
At Canadian Tire and Home Depot, prices can differ between stores, so a deal at one location may be better or worse a few kilometres away.
At Walmart, many prices are set by province. A Boxing Day price someone posts from another province may not exist at your store.

Do the homework in December

Look up the price history on the handful of things you actually want before the 26th, so you walk in knowing what number counts as a deal. Set alerts in early December too. Some retailers start real markdowns before Boxing Day, and an alert catches the first genuine drop instead of waiting for the event.

One caveat: a price chart only goes back as far as ShelfAware has been tracking that item. If it only started watching something recently, last year's Boxing Day won't be on the chart, and you're comparing against a shorter stretch of history.

On the day

Stock moves fast. Check that a specific store still has the item before you drive, and use the count if the retailer reports one. A single unit left at nine in the morning on Boxing Day is not a sure thing.

Search the items on your list to see their price history now, or browse today's clearance for what's already marked down.