TORONTO -- Online shopping may have changed the retail landscape, but shoppers at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market say there’s no substitute for the in-person experience.
“On a typical Saturday we get over 10,000 people here. Today and tomorrow will be even busier,” market spokesperson Samantha Wiles told CTV News Toronto.
Sid Sagar was among those thousands. He found himself in an unenviable position, starting from scratch.
“I’ve totally left this to the last minute. Mostly I need a Christmas tree,” he said while haggling with a vendor. “But I also need something to put under the tree.”
With plenty of trees in stock, Sagar could afford to be choosy. But getting his tree home could very well require a Christmas miracle.
“I can take this on the 501 Streetcar, right?”
Another shopper, Devin Parker, was in a similar predicament.
“I have nothing. I have no clue. I’ve left everything to the last minute,” Parker said.
“The Eaton Centre is hectic so this is the best place to be. They have so many local businesses, it’s nice.”
People looking to complete their gift lists weren’t difficult to find and Whitby’s Allen Mason came to give busy shoppers the gift of laughter.
With a rotating carousel, dozens of sparkling lights and built-in speakers playing Christmas songs, his homemade hat was as popular with market-goers as glazed hams and free-range turkeys.
“I made this for my wife, but she passed, so I wear it in her honour every day in December. I have seven of them, one of them is a cathedral, and another one with Rudolph on top.”
“It makes people laugh, which is great,” Mason said.
The St. Lawrence Market was ranked the number one food market in the world by National Geographic.
