Downtown Victoria businesses are hoping for a Black Friday boom for people looking to take advantage of pre-Christmas deals.
“This is one of those critical weekends for our local businesses as we head into the holiday season,” says Downtown Victoria Business Association CEO Jeff Bray.
“Greater Victorians have been so great about shopping local and making those purposeful shopping decisions. This is a great weekend to continue with that,” he says.
Bray reminds shoppers that parking at downtown parkades is free on Saturdays this month.
The incentive is there for any shoppers leery of online scammers trying to capitalize on Black Friday deal hunters.
“More than $350 million was stolen online last year,” says Laura Payton from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. She says while scammers are plentiful, it’s easy to spot fraudulent sites if you know what you’re looking for.
“Make sure that the website is professional,” she says. “If you’re on a site that looks a bit iffy, a thief isn’t going to put a lot of time into getting things right.”
For the concerned consumer, your ultimate financial firewall is the four walls of a store.
“If you walk into a brick-and-mortar shop and you deal with that shop owner and that staff person at the counter, you’re not going to get scammed online,” says Bray.
Cherry Bomb Toys owner B. Woodward says his business doesn’t buy into the Black Friday hype.
“We give good deals every day,” he says. “You come in and see us and we’ll make it real easy for you to take something home.”
Jordan Cunningham
