Black Friday or Black Friday sales started quietly in some stores in Canada, with fewer lines that summarize the one-time spending event and the economic decline of Canadians..

Retailers have also increasingly extended the deals over several weeks and offered similar discounts online, leading to some urgency in early morning shopping trips.

Retail analyst Bruce Winder also stated that this "softening" of Black Friday has spread promotions over a longer period as many retailers offer the same discount over a full week or more.

Winder added that a retail mall in the Toronto area showed little activity early in the morning, with a few people gathering outside Walmart before it opened at 6 a.m., adding that the parking lot at the local Best Buy - once a center for pre-dawn Black Friday crowds where consumers sought big discounts on electronics - was quiet just over an hour before it opened at 8 a.m.

However, Winder stated that overall Black Friday sales are likely to be strong, with mall crowds expected later in the morning.