Canadian Retail Thread

[niwell]

There's still smaller grocery stores (mostly Rabba) in Toronto open 24 hrs but larger stores have cut back their hours. Notably Metro and Sobeys used to have a lot of 24hr locations. I was also pretty shocked the other day when needing to get something from Best Buy while in Eastern Ontario and discovered both Kingston and Belleville locations don't open until 11am. Also driving from Montreal to Ottawa later in the evening and very little aside from gas stations are open late - even Tim Hortons was closed.

[Acajack]

I really had the impression we were moving more to a late-night and 24-hour society before the pandemic (even in the suburbs and smaller cities to some degree), but now almost everything has been scaled back on that front.

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I really had the impression we were moving more to a late-night and 24-hour society before the pandemic (even in the suburbs and smaller cities to some degree), but now almost everything has been scaled back on that front.

This is where things were supposed to be headed. 24-hour cities and nighttime economy. The pandemic put a sudden stop to that to say the least. Nightlife also isn’t what it used to be in a lot of places.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by esquire

I find that big box store hours are constantly changing with the labour market. At one point many were staying open later and even tinkered with 24 hours, then scaled it back. COVID really did a number on store hours and for the longest time stores were closing early. Hell, even last summer the Best Buy around me was closing at 6 pm, I'm not sure if they've stretched it out since then. But it has become unpredictable in recent years, I find I'm always having to google store hours before going anywhere.

The Best Buy in Timmins is never open later than 6pm ANY day of the week! That really annoys me. It used to be open until 9pm from Monday to Saturday. I'm sure that our location will be on the chopping block in the next couple of years. What's really strange is that the only store that I would be consider to a competitor to it and also locally owned closed for good in the Spring as the owner retired and sold the building for big bucks.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Loco101

The Best Buy in Timmins is never open later than 6pm ANY day of the week! That really annoys me. It used to be open until 9pm from Monday to Saturday. I'm sure that our location will be on the chopping block in the next couple of years. What's really strange is that the only store that I would be consider to a competitor to it and also locally owned closed for good in the Spring as the owner retired and sold the building for big bucks.

The Best Buy in Victoria switched to a single 8 hour shift. They have problems finding people.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by casper

The Best Buy in Victoria switched to a single 8 hour shift. They have problems finding people.

Gee, maybe they should pay more then.

[SpongeG]

Guildford Town Centre Mall in Surrey used to be open until 9 pm Mon - Saturday, now they are only open Fri & Sat till 9 pm, the rest of the days they close up at 7 pm, also a few of the stores inside the mall will close up at 6 pm even on the late night openings.

Most of the area malls close up at 6 and stay open one night (Fri) a week till 9, two days a week if you're lucky.

Most stores outside of malls in big box power centres also close up much earlier now, 6 or 7 pm.

Ditto for restaurants, the Dennys close to me has recently started to open 24 hours again, for quite a while it was closing at 11 pm, there are a few restaurants that used to be 24-hour locations that now close at 11 and only stay open 24 hrs Friday and Saturday. There is even a Mcdonald's that shuts down, drive-thru everything at midnight, most locations will close the lobby at 11 or 12 and keep the drive-thru 24 hours.

[casper]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Gee, maybe they should pay more then.

A few weeks ago I needed to pick something up in the morning on a weekday and they were closed. They were opening from 11:30 to 7. Walmart did not have it so I had to wait. When I went in chatting with the staff member, she said, it was due to the lack of people.

I have no idea how much they pay. Certain they can pass any extra labour cost on to the consumer. It is not likely they are competing against something like Amazon for business.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by casper

The Best Buy in Victoria switched to a single 8 hour shift. They have problems finding people.

Yes, that makes sense. The store here is open from 10am to 6pm so that it requires a smaller workforce to operate. They definitely have problems finding people here as well.

[Djeffery]

A lot of these stores are probably realizing that the customers will adjust their shopping habits. A store like Best Buy, what are you going there to buy that you just gotta have it right now at 8pm on a Wednesday that you won't wait until tomorrow during the day if you can get there, or until the weekend? Is it life and death that Walmart be open until 11 or midnight? That Metro or some other grocery store was open overnight? Sure it was nice to be able to pop into a store at whatever hour was convenient for me, but that's just it, it was convenient, but I'm still going to need groceries so I'm obviously going to shop when they are open. I'm sure staffing played a role in these hours cutbacks a couple years ago, but I think now the stores just realized they just don't need to be open and are saving money.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

A lot of these stores are probably realizing that the customers will adjust their shopping habits. A store like Best Buy, what are you going there to buy that you just gotta have it right now at 8pm on a Wednesday that you won't wait until tomorrow during the day if you can get there, or until the weekend? Is it life and death that Walmart be open until 11 or midnight? That Metro or some other grocery store was open overnight? Sure it was nice to be able to pop into a store at whatever hour was convenient for me, but that's just it, it was convenient, but I'm still going to need groceries so I'm obviously going to shop when they are open. I'm sure staffing played a role in these hours cutbacks a couple years ago, but I think now the stores just realized they just don't need to be open and are saving money.

I can live without stores being open to midnight but 6 pm closings are inconvenient from a consumer standpoint... most people who work, go to school, etc. during the day will typically not have an easy time making it to the store before it closes at 6.

6 pm closings just make it more likely that I will try to buy online from Amazon or wherever instead of having to adjust my schedule to make it to Best Buy or wherever before it closes.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I really had the impression we were moving more to a late-night and 24-hour society before the pandemic (even in the suburbs and smaller cities to some degree), but now almost everything has been scaled back on that front.

The 24-hour thing was retrenching prior to the pandemic in Ontario due to increased minimum wage implemented by the Wynne government and the difficulty of finding employees to work those shifts.

A number of 24-hour grocery stores went to more regular hours and many Tim Hortons locations started to close overnight in my observation.

Even if one works shift, who is really getting groceries at 3am? It was such a marginal business prospect. The closing of fast-food places at late hours also avoids the worst of the 'less desirable' crowd of those hours who probably aren't worth it.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thewave46

The 24-hour thing was retrenching prior to the pandemic in Ontario due to increased minimum wage implemented by the Wynne government and the difficulty of finding employees to work those shifts.

A number of 24-hour grocery stores went to more regular hours and many Tim Hortons locations started to close overnight in my observation.

Even if one works shift, who is really getting groceries at 3am? It was such a marginal business prospect. The closing of fast-food places at late hours also avoids the worst of the 'less desirable' crowd of those hours who probably aren't worth it.

Prepandemic I used to typically go grocery shopping at Walmart after 9 pm and by the time I hit the checkouts closer to 10, the store was pretty much empty. And most of the people in there were popping in to buy one or two things, they didn't have a cart full of stuff like me. I can't imagine what it would be like after midnight if they were open then.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I really had the impression we were moving more to a late-night and 24-hour society before the pandemic (even in the suburbs and smaller cities to some degree), but now almost everything has been scaled back on that front.

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Guildford Town Centre Mall in Surrey used to be open until 9 pm Mon - Saturday, now they are only open Fri & Sat till 9 pm, the rest of the days they close up at 7 pm, also a few of the stores inside the mall will close up at 6 pm even on the late night openings.

Most of the area malls close up at 6 and stay open one night (Fri) a week till 9, two days a week if you're lucky.

Most stores outside of malls in big box power centres also close up much earlier now, 6 or 7 pm.

Ditto for restaurants, the Dennys close to me has recently started to open 24 hours again, for quite a while it was closing at 11 pm, there are a few restaurants that used to be 24-hour locations that now close at 11 and only stay open 24 hrs Friday and Saturday. There is even a Mcdonald's that shuts down, drive-thru everything at midnight, most locations will close the lobby at 11 or 12 and keep the drive-thru 24 hours.

Even before the pandemic, I found some things in Metro Vancouver closed oddly early. When I was working in Burnaby during 2019, Lougheed Town Centre closed at 6pm most weekdays, though Walmart and London Drugs were open later. I also remember going to a Save-on-Foods one evening to buy groceries and shortly after entering there was an announcement that they were closing in 15 minutes. This was at 8:45pm on a Friday. I used to regularly buy groceries after 9pm when I lived in Toronto and earlier in Kingston. I'd never heard of a mall closing before 9pm on a weeknight before I moved to BC the first time.

The big one in Metro Vancouver that closes early - even before the pandemic - is laundromats. As of 2019, there were no laundromats in Metro Vancouver open past 6:30pm, and today the latest they're open is 7pm - which means you pretty much have to start your load by 5pm, which doesn't work if you're working. When I lived in Toronto, I could go to the laundromat in the evening if I needed to. The one in my neighbourhood in Toronto was open 24/7. Here, if you need to go to a laundromat, it's after 5pm and you can't wait for the next day, you actually have to cross the border, as the nearest 24-hour laundromat is in Lynden, Washington of all places. And Bellingham has several open in the evening.

I'm fortunate that I have a laundry machine in my building (as in one washer and one dryer) but there have been multiple situations where the dryer was out of order and I had to use a laundromat.

As for things like coffee shops, my least favourite thing about living in New West is how early everything closes. If you want to meet someone for coffee in downtown New West after 8pm, your only choice is Tim Hortons. One of the coffee shops closes at 2pm and is closed weekends - and this is only a block from Douglas College too. Most others close at 5; the downtown Starbucks closes at 8pm, which is also oddly early. Some of the early closure hours existed before the pandemic too. (I worked for a suburban Starbucks in Ontario over a decade ago that closed at 11pm 7 nights a week)

Lastly, Return-It depots (for returning empty recyclables such as pop cans and beer bottles) have incredibly inconvenient hours for people who work (and again, it was like this pre-Covid). During the week, most have bankers' hours. As much as I disliked The Beer Store in Ontario, at least there you could return empties on weeknights and not wait in a big lineup on Saturday morning.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by esquire

Prepandemic I used to typically go grocery shopping at Walmart after 9 pm and by the time I hit the checkouts closer to 10, the store was pretty much empty. And most of the people in there were popping in to buy one or two things, they didn't have a cart full of stuff like me. I can't imagine what it would be like after midnight if they were open then.

I think the thought process for places like a grocery store that was open overnight was they had staff working anyway restocking and cleaning anyway, so why not make some sales. But I think they realized having customers coming in during that time was just a pain in the ass and the few sales weren't worth it. I used to stop at a Metro when I worked until midnight and the store was usually a mess with pallets and boxes all over the place. I can't imagine the staff enjoyed having random people walking around trying to navigate that mess while they tried to get the store restocked and it probably wasted time for them to be able to do their jobs. Plus there was never a dedicated clerk, it was always one of the stock people who had to man the checkout.

[Ozabald]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Even before the pandemic, I found some things in Metro Vancouver closed oddly early. When I was working in Burnaby during 2019, Lougheed Town Centre closed at 6pm most weekdays, though Walmart and London Drugs were open later. I also remember going to a Save-on-Foods one evening to buy groceries and shortly after entering there was an announcement that they were closing in 15 minutes. This was at 8:45pm on a Friday. I used to regularly buy groceries after 9pm when I lived in Toronto and earlier in Kingston. I'd never heard of a mall closing before 9pm on a weeknight before I moved to BC the first time.

The big one in Metro Vancouver that closes early - even before the pandemic - is laundromats. As of 2019, there were no laundromats in Metro Vancouver open past 6:30pm, and today the latest they're open is 7pm - which means you pretty much have to start your load by 5pm, which doesn't work if you're working. When I lived in Toronto, I could go to the laundromat in the evening if I needed to. The one in my neighbourhood in Toronto was open 24/7. Here, if you need to go to a laundromat, it's after 5pm and you can't wait for the next day, you actually have to cross the border, as the nearest 24-hour laundromat is in Lynden, Washington of all places. And Bellingham has several open in the evening.

I'm fortunate that I have a laundry machine in my building (as in one washer and one dryer) but there have been multiple situations where the dryer was out of order and I had to use a laundromat.

As for things like coffee shops, my least favourite thing about living in New West is how early everything closes. If you want to meet someone for coffee in downtown New West after 8pm, your only choice is Tim Hortons. One of the coffee shops closes at 2pm and is closed weekends - and this is only a block from Douglas College too. Most others close at 5; the downtown Starbucks closes at 8pm, which is also oddly early. Some of the early closure hours existed before the pandemic too. (I worked for a suburban Starbucks in Ontario over a decade ago that closed at 11pm 7 nights a week)

Lastly, Return-It depots (for returning empty recyclables such as pop cans and beer bottles) have incredibly inconvenient hours for people who work (and again, it was like this pre-Covid). During the week, most have bankers' hours. As much as I disliked The Beer Store in Ontario, at least there you could return empties on weeknights and not wait in a big lineup on Saturday morning.

I would agree that even pre-pandemic, retailers closed early in the Lower Mainland. Moving from Atlantic Canada where 24/7 was fairly common at the time, it was a shock how early retailers closed in Vancouver. Back when the CDN$ was par and above par, would regularly fly out of Seattle vs. Vancouver. On those very early morning drives up I-5 back to Vancouver, would always stop at Haggen (which is a NW Washington grocery chain), as some of their stores were 24/7, at 1am or 2am in either Bellingham or Marysville to grab a sandwich from the deli; some wine and/or beer to avoid the limited selection at the duty free or gas stations in Blaine; plus grocery essentials (ie: milk, bread, etc.); rather than going home to an empty fridge as nothing would be open in Vancouver. Sadly, the Haggen stores are no longer independently owned (now part of Albertsons) and the 24/7 stores are now 5am-midnight.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by esquire

Prepandemic I used to typically go grocery shopping at Walmart after 9 pm and by the time I hit the checkouts closer to 10, the store was pretty much empty. And most of the people in there were popping in to buy one or two things, they didn't have a cart full of stuff like me. I can't imagine what it would be like after midnight if they were open then.

College/Uni Students, stoners, second shift (3-11pm-ish) workers, people with anxiety/social phobias or just can't stand crowds, and those that probably suffer from terrible insomnia. Not many, and not enough to justify 24 hours.

I occasionally did late night shopping as a student to take a break from studying or while working on long projects. Those are the folks I'd see at midnight-2am. The worker types looked like they just came from a factory or hospital (wearing scrubs).

As for Best Buy, I went for a job interview there many years ago and the supervisors were the biggest douchebags I've ever encountered in retail or otherwise.
Your job wasn't to help customers, it was to have them walk out of the store with as much Best Buy product as possible. Not just upselling, making the customer feel stupid and then getting them to buy as much crap as humanly possible.

An elderly person wants a router? Don't find out what he actually needs and sell them the basic, inexpensive one.
The one interviewer actually made this sound
• Video Link
And then shouted "WRONG answer!"
Get them to buy the most expensive gaming router at 4-5x the price that they don't need and sell them a new computer or peripheral accessories while you're at it.

I miss Future Shop. The only thing they'd try to upsell was the pointless extended warranty

[urbandreamer]

Across Quebec and Northern Ontario I couldn't find any gluten-free poutine. Bummer. So a few days ago I made it myself, but the curds and fries were mediocre - why didn't I stop at Thornloe Cheese on Hwy 11?

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Ozabald

I would agree that even pre-pandemic, retailers closed early in the Lower Mainland. Moving from Atlantic Canada where 24/7 was fairly common at the time, it was a shock how early retailers closed in Vancouver. Back when the CDN$ was par and above par, would regularly fly out of Seattle vs. Vancouver. On those very early morning drives up I-5 back to Vancouver, would always stop at Haggen (which is a NW Washington grocery chain), as some of their stores were 24/7, at 1am or 2am in either Bellingham or Marysville to grab a sandwich from the deli; some wine and/or beer to avoid the limited selection at the duty free or gas stations in Blaine; plus grocery essentials (ie: milk, bread, etc.); rather than going home to an empty fridge as nothing would be open in Vancouver. Sadly, the Haggen stores are no longer independently owned (now part of Albertsons) and the 24/7 stores are now 5am-midnight.

I’m in North Vancouver this evening and I was thinking of going to a burger place around Lonsdale Quay. When I arrived I saw signs showing that they close dine-in nightly at 6:30pm.

It’s a Friday night in the middle of summer. There’s people everywhere. It’s almost as though they don’t want peoples’ money and want to fail.

As someone with a business degree…the massive rush to close early here on a summer Friday evening when there’s crowds of people around makes no sense.

It’s because of this that I have no sympathy for restaurants that complain about customers who come in right before closing. That’s not the customer’s problem. That’s the restaurant’s problem for having hours that don’t meet customer demand.

[esquire]

^ It must be a staffing issue. You see plenty of things like that now that you seldom saw before. Places closing early, turning customers away, etc.

For instance, the Winnipeg Sea Bears basketball team sells out the lower bowl of the arena but doesn't open up the upper bowl. Why do they turn paying fans away? I can only imagine that it is because they can't find enough people on short notice to staff the upper bowl. I don't think that would have been the case 5 years ago.