Massive online Boxing Day sale

  By TARINA WHITE, CALGARY SUN

Forget about battling the Boxing Day crowds and long lineups at the mall — a Calgary-based company is bringing the blowout sales to the comfort of your home.

Shoptoit.ca is launching a massive online Boxing Day sale at 12:01 a.m. EST on Dec. 26, featuring 50,000 deals from upwards of 200 Canadian retailers.

President and CEO Clark Johannson said consumers who visit the site will be able to browse merchandise at Sears, La Senza, Toys ‘R Us, The Bay, Chapters-Indigo, Home Depot, The Source and Jersey City, among other retailers.

And for consumers who enjoy the thrill of shopping in person, the website also enables Internet users to research products and comparison shop before hitting the mall, he said.

“Given the choice, we think 250,000 shoppers will visit ShopToIt.ca, making this Canada’s biggest Boxing Day blitz ever,” said Johannson. According to a Canadian Press/Leger Marketing Christmas poll, 29% of Canadians will be shopping one way or the other on Boxing Day.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada indicates that last year’s Internet commerce sales in Canada totalled more than $39 billion with 56% of Internet users buying online.

“One reason for the increase in online shopping sales in Canada is better options for Canadian consumers,” said Johannson.

“Canadian shoppers no longer have to depend on U.S. shopping search engines for their online shopping needs.

“Obviously Canadian consumers prefer to buy from Canadian sites in order to bypass the exchange rates, duties, and shipping costs associated with buying products from the States.”

Shoptoit.ca promotes itself as the country’s first-ever shopping search engine, created by Calgary entrepreneurs in 2004 to help meet the needs of the Canadian market.