Boxing Day vs Black Friday in Canada: Which Is Better?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday open the holiday shopping season, when many people are buying gifts. Boxing Day, on December 26, starts the post-Christmas period, which many Canadian retailers extend into Boxing Week.

Both are retail traditions rather than rules, so each retailer decides what, when and whether to discount.

The calendar dates are fixed, but individual retailers choose their own sale periods.

Early in the season retailers usually have full ranges, so you are more likely to find the size, colour or configuration you want. After Christmas, popular items may have sold through, and the remaining choice can be narrower for some products.

That does not apply to every product. Items that retailers stock deeply may still be easy to find in late December, so judge it item by item rather than assuming.

Waiting can make sense if the purchase is not urgent, it is not a gift with a deadline, and you would accept a different version if your first choice sold out. It carries a risk, because a price you saw earlier may not return.

Noting the price now and again after each event is the best way to learn what changed for the exact model you want. We do not publish historical comparisons we cannot support, so rely on your own records.

Return windows differ by retailer and can change at the holidays. A purchase in November may fall inside an extended holiday return period, while one made on Boxing Day may follow a different rule. Read the retailer's current policy for the date you buy.

For gifts, a gift receipt and a clear return window matter more than a small difference in price.

Which period is better depends on the retailer, the category and the specific item, and it can change from year to year. A claim that one is always cheaper is not something we can support.

A sensible approach is to decide in advance what you need and by when, record today's price, and buy when a price meets your own test.

Our topic pages explain what to check for the categories where timing questions come up most.