Canadians hunting for Black Friday deals did so without facing long lines or crowded shopping malls this year, as an extended period of sales and decades-high inflation weighs on consumers and prompts some to rein in spending.

Retailers have stretched deals over several weeks and offered similar discounts online, taking some of the frenzy out of the holiday shopping event.

Several big box stores in the Greater Toronto Area, such as Best Buy and Walmart, lacked the usual early morning lineups that once epitomized Black Friday.

The Eaton Centre in the heart of Toronto appeared busy around lunchtime, but closer to a typical Friday rather than swarming with the crowds and queues seen in previous years. Few stores appeared to have lines of waiting customers.

A busy stretch of the city鈥檚 Queen Street West, which includes H&M, Zara, Aritzia and Aldo stores, similarly didn鈥檛 show signs of additional shoppers.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a dilution of Black Friday as a physical shopping event where you go to the store early in the morning,鈥� retail analyst Bruce Winder said Friday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 finally sort of hit that tipping point where it鈥檚 much less about the day and it鈥檚 more about the shopping period.鈥�

The elongation of Black Friday sales has lessened the urgency for consumers to shop on one particular day, said Lisa Hutcheson, managing partner at consulting firm J.C. Williams Group.

鈥淭he need to line up isn鈥檛 as necessary,鈥� she said Friday. 鈥淢ost of the retailers have been on sale a good portion of the week already.鈥�

Shopper Amanda Ram said she normally comes to the Eaton Centre to check out Black Friday deals, though COVID-19 put a pause on that.

She said she normally tries to hit the mall before the after-work rush, but though it was busy she still noticed it wasn鈥檛 as packed as she remembered from before the pandemic 鈥� fewer and shorter lines, for one.

Overall Black Friday sales are expected to be strong as inflation intensifies the hunt for deals, experts say.

Yet the rising cost of living will also lead customers to 鈥渃herry pick鈥� sales, Winder said.

Ram said she鈥檚 being more careful with her money as she shops for the holidays this year. With inflation driving up the price of her mortgage and everyday essentials, she feels less likely to get caught up in the allure of a great deal, and plans to do some online comparison at home before heading back to the mall.

She said she thinks inflation is definitely affecting how many people shop this weekend and heading into the holidays.

鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be on people鈥檚 minds.鈥�

Stores that offer blowout deals of up to 70 per cent off will be busy while retailers with more tepid discounts won鈥檛 see the same traffic online or in stores, Winder said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a retailer and you鈥檙e trying to move something at 25 or 30 per cent off 鈥� it ain鈥檛 gonna sell,鈥� he said.

Some retailers, especially those with high levels of inventory such as apparel, will likely offer bigger sales in stores than online.

鈥淚f the merchandise is already there and they鈥檙e running short on space, they鈥檒l want to turn it into cash 鈥� especially if they don鈥檛 have room to pack it up and hold it for another year,鈥� Winder said.

Meanwhile, after years of pandemic health restrictions, shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is expected to make a comeback this holiday season, including on Black Friday.

鈥淲e continue to see increased levels and excitement for in-person shopping across all our 18 shopping centres,鈥� Sal Iacono, executive vice-president of operations for Cadillac Fairview, said in an emailed statement.

The company, which operates a number of malls across the country including the Eaton Centre in Toronto and the Pacific Centre in Vancouver, has seen retailers extend promotions over a longer period of time but still expects Black Friday to be a big shopping day, he said.

鈥淲e anticipate Black Friday to be one of the busiest shopping days at all our retail centres and we are looking forward to continuing to see the prolonged momentum throughout the entire season,鈥� Iacono said.

Still, while some Canadians are eager to return to in-person shopping, others now prefer to do their holiday gift-buying online.

Bradley Thompson of Oakville, Ont., said he plans to do all his Christmas shopping on Black Friday 鈥� but won鈥檛 be stepping foot in a store.

鈥淚鈥檓 not a big in-store shopper. I鈥檓 a real millennial in the sense that I鈥檒l be doing all my shopping online,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s a personal challenge, I try to get all of my Christmas shopping done during the Black Friday sales.鈥�

He usually checks the sales at the big players like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, but Thompson said he鈥檚 increasingly also shopping at Etsy and smaller local businesses online.

Overall, he said the Black Friday deals he鈥檚 come across are good 鈥� but not great.

鈥淭he discounts don鈥檛 seem to be quite as steep as they used to be but they run them a little bit longer,鈥� Thompson said.

鈥淚nflation is crazy right now though, so every little bit I can save helps.鈥�

鈥� Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press