Last-minute shoppers help boost downtown retailers; merchants say REM is helping

Downtown Montreal retailers say last-minute holiday shopping and improved transit access are helping drive sales in the final days before Christmas.

With snow falling, Montreal’s main shopping artery, Sainte-Catherine Street, is buzzing with Christmas spirit.

A whole lot of people are shopping at the last minute, and it’s to the benefit of retailers. This time of year is critical for their bottom line.

“From November to the end of December, it’s about 45 to 50 per cent of our total sales over the year,” said Dawei Ding, CEO and owner of Signé Local, a company that sells Quebec products.

“That’s been done in the last two months of the year.”

One of Ding’s stores is located in the Eaton Centre, and he said business is good.

“[The] REM opened a station at McGill not long ago, and that had a very positive impact on our flow,” Ding said.

He’s not the only one noticing what a difference the REM is making.

Quebec’s Retail Council says that since opening a new branch of the REM, more people can easily access downtown.

“It’s a nightmare to take the car right now to go to downtown, to park, etc,” Damien Siles, Quebec Retail Council CEO, said. “So right now, it’s very easy to come, to stay, to buy and to leave quickly. And it wasn’t the case.”

Consumer habits are changing, with many people buying early Christmas gifts on Black Friday.

“This year we gave a $20 cash back on every purchase that’s above $100 and so many people jumped on the occasion,” Ding said.

“Almost 80 per cent of the population began to buy in November. Half of them, around 50 per cent [on] Black Friday,” Siles adds.

Still, shoppers say that with three days before Christmas, depending on the store you visit, expect a lineup.