'There's nobody here’: Cross-border Black Friday shoppers shocked to see low Canadian turnout in Mich.
If you drove the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel or Ambassador Bridge for this year's Black Friday, you have may have forgotten it’s the first holiday shopping occasion without any COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions in three years for fully-vaccinated Canadians.
That's because for most of Friday morning and afternoon, Canadians were able to cross into the U.S. via the Ambassador Bridge or Windsor-Detroit Tunnel with almost no delays.
"I was expecting a bigger turnout. I mean, it’s Black Friday. It’s an American tradition and Canadians always love to participate in American traditions," said Windsor, Ont. resident Ronnie Desjardins who was shopping at the Target store in Dearborn, Mich.
Shoppers inside told CTV News Windsor the store looked no different than any other Friday, despite clear signage promoting deal after deal.
"I think people got tired of the fighting and the drama of the holiday shopping," said Desjardins. "Especially after basically three years of living in a pandemic and being used to buying everything online, I think people have shifted their consumer habits.
According to data released by Google, 86 per cent of shoppers discover brands and products while browsing online. Meanwhile, 89 per cent searched for items online before visiting a physical store.
"There’s nobody here. It’s just us," said Sheena McKay, just minutes after exiting a store in Michigan with two of her friends.
McKay added she normally crosses the border for Black Friday shopping, except for 2020 and 2021 when border crossing was limited due to the pandemic.
While shopping for Black Friday 2022, she said there were far fewer Canadian licence plates in the lots than she is normally used to seeing.
"The deals aren’t that great. They’re actually all online. I could’ve done this all online," said McKay.
According to Bruce Winter, a retail analyst, in-person store lineups have "diluted" as shoppers shift to buying products online.
“What we’re seeing is they might spend their money a little bit differently this year,” he said. “They are going to be looking for more meaningful and more practical gifts. They might choose to buy for fewer people then they did in the past.”
Other Windsorites such as Dharmesh Patel said the increased toll at the bridge and tunnel make the cross-border not worth it.
"While I’m sure there are still deals to be had at certain outlets on items you just can’t find here, it's still not worth the time," said Patel.
A CBSA border services agent told CTV News Windsor traffic to and from the Windsor-Detroit land borders was much less than it normally has been during pre-pandemic Black Fridays.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.