This is an interesting article about black Friday. It explains the increasing competition in Canada in an attempt to reduce the lost revenue due to the competitive prices in the USA. Black Friday has very little meaning in Canada, but that is quickly changing.
The article attributes the magnitude of Canadians shopping across the border to the strong Canadian dollar and the rising demand for deals in economic uncertainty. This is influencing Canadian retailers to adopt the famous day of shopping. It talks about the issue of decreasing margins that is exchanged for the increase in sales.
I find this interesting since the Canadian companies are not necessarily increasing profits, but to reduce losses to the USA. Their choice to increase volume by decreasing their margins was simply strategic. It is somewhat contradictory, because by changing their habits drastically, they are simply trying to keep the status quo.
Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/black-friday-sweeps-north/article2248092/