Santa Claus returned to the Ottawa Mall, and droves of active shoppers also came back. They heralded a green Christmas at the retailer’s checkout counter. Local analysts predicted that this year’s holiday spending would set a record.

One year after the COVID disappeared in the local shopping mall, the return of Saint Nick was accompanied by a wave of consumers eager to make up for the 2020 holiday stolen by the pandemic.

The sales of major shopping malls surveyed by OBJ increased by an average of 30% over last year, as pent-up demand and concerns about missing the perfect gift amid ongoing supply chain difficulties have prompted consumers to open their wallets more than usual.

Retail analyst Barry Nabatian (Barry Nabatian) said that after retailers spent a blue Christmas a year ago, for an industry that generates a lot of annual revenue in December, this holiday is in history. One of the best seasons since.

Nabatian, director of market research at Shore-Tanner & Associates, said: “People are rich and they really want to shop, meet friends to buy things, and give themselves something to eat,” he added, adding that concerns about rising inflation are increasing due to Budget-conscious consumers want to buy necessities, so they flock to large stores such as Costco.

The senior retail expert said that due to the newly emerging omicron variants driving the increase in the number of COVID cases, mall traffic has declined in the past one or two weeks. 

"This is likely to be the best shopping season in history."

Barry Nabatian-Director of Market Research, Shore-Tanner & Associates

However, he said that unless cases and hospitalizations increase sharply next week, 2021 may be a record Christmas for local retailers.

"This is likely to be the best shopping season in history," Nabatian said. "People have a lot of money, but they can't spend it."

The retail tenants of the St. Laurent shopping center must be in a good mood. Marketing manager Kristina Sparkes said that compared with last year, the traffic here has increased by 20% and sales have increased even more.

"People don't seem to bargain as they did in previous years," Sparks said. "I heard from some retailers that if there is something in the store, (shoppers) will buy it."

Like most local shopping centers, St. Laurent requires that Santa’s visit be booked online in advance to reduce queues and congestion in the shopping center. Sparks said that children come out in groups to sit down with Saint Nick, while their parents and other shoppers tend to do more research and call ahead to make sure items are in stock to eliminate wasteful travel.

"I definitely think there is a feeling that when (tourists) come, they come to shop," she said. "People are really planning their visits so that they can get in and out as quickly as possible."

The story of the Rideau Center is roughly the same as the situation in the city center, with manager Brian O'Hoski (Brian O'Hoski) saying that compared to last year, 2021 looks more like Christmas.

"I dare you, now it's starting to feel like the good old days," he said.

Although the area’s busiest shopping mall (which typically attracts 25 million visitors a year) has not fully recovered its traffic to pre-pandemic levels, O’Hoski says “purposeful” shoppers with large amounts of cash and inventory on hand It is being produced due to the lack of tourists and office staff that usually make up the majority of tourists.

He said that as a result, most tenants' sales increased by double digits compared to 2020.

"This is very encouraging," O'Hoski said, noting that pent-up demand and "impulse buying" by consumers who are worried about supply shortages are the main factors driving the sharp rise in sales.

He added that the return of Santa Claus and new products such as the augmented reality tree decoration experience also helped trigger an increase in traffic.

"We saw people showing up and enjoying the celebration," O'Hoski explained.

In the Bayshore shopping center further west, General Manager Denis Pelletier also stated that sales have increased by about 30% year-on-year.

He said that although tourists do not spend as much time in the mall as they did before COVID, they are making the most of their short trips.

"We are not quite complete (the level of sales before the pandemic), but it is getting closer," Pelletier said.

Back to St. Laurent, Sparkes said that the festive atmosphere that was basically absent in 2020 is back, and she is extremely happy.

"It's all about the hum, the hum, and the energy," she added. "Our retailers feed on the energy of our customers. Everyone is happy that someone is back."

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