Bargain hunters looking for deals on electronics were not disappointed this Boxing Day, but it was a different story for shoppers looking to refresh their wardrobe.
Stores offering electronics offered the best deals, shoppers told ctvtoronto.ca. Other kinds of retailers offered more of the same.
"We should have driven to Buffalo," said one mother shopping at the Eaton Center with her daughter Saturday. "We were hoping for some deals at the higher-end clothing stores but there weren't that many great deals."
It was a different story at electronics stores where shoppers were treated to prices slashed by more than $100 on some items.
The general manager at the downtown Toronto Best Buy at the corner of Dundas and Bay Streets said by the time he opened shop at 6 a.m., about 1,100 people were in line waiting to take advantage of the store's door crashers.
"People started lining up at 11 p.m. And by the time we opened, the line was all the way to Yonge Street," said Zee Soofi.
Among the first items to be sold out were the Wii, some laptops, select digital cameras and a Play Station bundle pack.
"There's been more traffic this year and people are spending more compared to last year, he said. "That's the trend we've seen going into Boxing Day."
Last year, shoppers found themselves in the throes of a dark recession whereas they came into this shopping season under improving economic conditions.
However, the effects of the recession were still felt by smaller electronics stores like The Source.
Domenic Lecce, the assistant manager at Eaton Centre location, said sales didn't start picking up until the week before Christmas.
"We were worried for a while but then sales started to pick up," he said.
Though the store didn't have a line-up waiting for them Saturday morning, he said traffic picked up by late morning. Lecce said at the very least the store should be able to match last year's Boxing Day sales.
One sales associate at Future Shop, who didn't want his name published, said the retailer really made an effort to drop prices this year in an effort to bring more people in -- and it worked.
Reduced manufacturing costs helped the company (which includes Best Buy) offer better deals. Other products were sold almost at cost to get them moving off the sales floor.
The salesperson pointed to a home entertainment system complete with Blu-Ray Disk and speakers on sale for $499, down from $1,100.
"It's a great deal and we barely make any money off of it," he said.
Long line-ups
There was little sign of a recession outside the Abercrombie and Fitch store at the Eaton Centre where a line stretched 120 people deep.
Talia and Bianca Kalender said they had been waiting to get into popular clothing store for more than 20 minutes even though they had no idea what kind of deals awaited them inside.
"We don't care, we just want to see," said Talia, 19. "The lineup is going much faster than we thought it would."
This is the third year in a row that the sisters have come Boxing Day shopping at the Eaton Centre.
"We know what we want ahead of time and so we wait until Boxing Day to get it," Talia said.
"The prices are okay but there are just more things on sale on Boxing Day than before Christmas," Bianca,16, chimed in.
Shannon Mitchel, a 20-year-old fashion merchandiser from Richmond Hill, said she has noticed retailers are slower to offer the same great deals they offered a few years ago.
"Where I shop, I noticed the prices have just gone down by $5 or $10," she said. "Getting here earlier wouldn't have made a difference."
Customers shopping at the local Indigo bookstore said the retailer seemed to have offered better deals last year.
"I have an iRewards membership and last year, I got such great deals that I did most of my Christmas shopping here but not this year," said Michelle, declining to give her last name. "Today, they have the same old sale they've had for years -- 30 per cent off of hardcovers -- no pleasant surprises."
Mitchel, who spent the day shopping with her mother Helen Harela, said she had been saving for Boxing Day deals for months.
Harela said the recession during this past year has forced her to think twice before her purchases.
"I'm more careful about what I'm buying, especially if it's not a good deal."
Most shopping malls in Toronto will stay open until 6 p.m. Saturday.
Many retailers have said they will extend their Boxing Day deals for the rest of the week.
