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BlackFriday

Tech deals you can’t afford to miss, U10

GET THAT GADGET NOW

Savvy shoppers know you can scoresome great deals on the day afterAmerican Thanksgiving in Canada,as well as the U.S. Read on for tipsfrom a fashionista, a deals aficionadoand a money expert to ensure you getthe most bang from your buck.

Plus-size blogger Jessica Biffi (just-biffi.com) has been making waves inthe fashion industry since endingProject Runway Canada, as the Sea-son 2 runner up. She has since

launched her own clothing and ac-cessory lines, and capsule collectionsfor Addition-Elle and Pennington.

The self-described “Toronto girlwith a serious fashion addiction”says most retailers let you knowabout sales in advance. So if there’s astore or chain you frequent, sign upfor their email sales alerts.

“Then you can gauge whether ornot you want to deal with the situa-tion in person or online,” says Biffi.Her own preference is almost alwaysto shop online during Black Friday.“It’s just overwhelming otherwise,”she says.

When buying clothing online, Biffisuggests, it pays to do a bit of re-search upfront before you let yourfingers do the walking. “Sizes havethe same range at most stores, but

the fit can be very different,” she says. At the very least, measure yourself

and look over the online size chart.Or do some pre-shopping. “If youknow you really like something, getto the store a few days in advance andtry stuff on,” Biffi suggests. “Thenyou will be on a mission to grab yourthings the day of, and you won’t haveas much stress to deal with.”

Raymond Lau, of Canada DealsBlog, has been a deals shopper for aslong as he can remember, but since2010, the Calgarian has been blog-ging full time about the specials hefinds to his 50,000 subscribers acrossthe country. Lau updates his site dai-ly with local shopping deals in majorCanadian cities.

“Black Friday, Cyber Monday andBoxing Day are the three biggest days

of the year for me,” he says. “Mytraffic spikes like crazy.”

The problem: since he’s aware ofthe deals on offer, Lau can’t resistdoing some shopping himself. “Iprobably spend more than I should,”he admits.

Lau finds the best Black-Fridaydeals on consumer electronics suchas televisions and gaming consoles.But, he warns, some electronics re-tailers charge as much as a 50-per-cent restocking fee once you openthe box, “so only open it if you plan

on keeping it.”Door-crasher specials can offer

particularly great value, he adds, butthey are frequently reserved for thefirst few people in the store, so getthere early. “I never wait in line,” Lausays. “I don’t believe in it. But a fewyears ago, I actually camped out withmy wife and we were lucky enough tobe the tenth in line to get a $3,000 TVfor $900.” He confesses he wouldhave been pretty upset if he’d been11th and missed the deal.

To avoid size snafus when buyingonline, Lau usually purchases twosizes (medium and large) and triesthem on when they get to the house.“I just keep the one that fits andreturn the one that doesn’t,” he says.

> SMART SHOPPING

It’s a mad rush for Black Friday shoppers to pick up the best in deals in town on anything from tech and electronics to appliances and cars.

COLE BURSTON/TORONTO STAR

Tips from those on the inside Take notes beforehitting the shopsonline or in-store

CAMILLA CORNELL

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

“I never wait in line.

I don’t believe in it.”

RAYMOND LAU

CANADA DEALS BLOG

TIPS continued on U6

It was an all-too-familiar Black Fri-day scene.

Moments after the retailer openedits doors just after midnight on thebig day, a crush of bargain-hunterspoured in, jostling with one anotherand in some cases throwing punchesin a bid to secure deeply discountedelectronics.

Chaotic to be sure, except thiswasn’t happening at a Best Buy inBuffalo. The Black Friday mayhemwas playing out at a Tesco in Man-chester, England, whose deputychief constable called shopper beha-viour “appalling.”

Perhaps, but Simon Dornan, aspokesperson for Dixons Carphone

(a U.K. retailer not connected to Tes-co), says his company has welcomedthe notorious retail holiday withopen arms.

“We love Black Friday,” he says, not-ing that the 2014 event became thesingle biggest day of trading in thehistory of its Currys PC World chain.“Overnight we had a new, amazingspike in our annual trading pattern.”

Historically an American retail hol-iday, Black Friday has been gainingmomentum worldwide. It’s spreadto Canada, where both U.S. and do-mestic retailers have a plethora ofbargain hunters well-versed in theins and outs of the epic Americanretail event after years of cross-bor-der excursions. It’s been enthusiasti-cally embraced in the U.K., too, sincebeing reportedly introduced by Am-azon in 2010. In Canada and the U.K.,Black Friday’s rise has stolen thun-der from Boxing Day, the traditionalbargain-shopping holiday.

Thanks in large part to the power ofe-commerce and ease of onlineshopping, Black Friday has inspiredcopycat events in nations fartherafield, including China, Mexico, Bra-zil, Russia, India, France and Spain.

“Americans are globally made funof for our culture of consumerismand the stampedes and fights,” saysLily Varon, a retail analyst with For-rester in Boston. “But it’s definitelyhelped create awareness of the holi-day.”

Its global appeal isn’t hard to deci-pher: No matter where you live in theworld, Varon says, “everyone lovesthe feeling that they’re getting a gooddeal.”

In Brazil, hundreds of retailers offerdiscounts, recording online sales theday of that were 12 times higher thanoff-peak-season levels, according toonline advertising firm Criteo.

Black Friday spreads its wings Retailers around the globe

woo bargain-hunting shoppers

with special one-day deals

RYAN STARR

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

WORLDWIDE continued on U12

> CROSSING BORDERS

Get out those holiday gift lists andstart planning because Black Fridayis fast approaching.

The bargain bonanza, happeningNov. 25, has become one of the mostanticipated shopping events in Can-ada and continues to gain momen-tum, with consumers looking fordeep discounts on everything fromclothing and accessories to electron-ics, toys, books and music.

To score the deepest discounts, it’ssmart to map out your mission early,say the experts.

“Make sure you go armed with alist,” advises shopping guru, CathieMostowyk, president of the Shoe-

string Shopping Guide (shoestring-shopping.com). “If you’re settingaside $1,000 for holiday shopping,you really need to have a list so youdon’t blow your budget. Keeping to abudget is the tough part about shop-ping — it’s easy to get caught up in thedeals and the holiday spirit, so go at itas a prepared shopper.”

She adds consumers should re-search products ahead of time, par-ticularly before purchasing a newcamera, phone, TV or other electron-ics.

And while many will be on the look-out for sales on stylish new garb, onthe big day, think comfort and prag-matism.

“Wear your most comfortable out-fit,” says Mostowyk.

“Don’t dress for fashion. You don’twant to wear high heels.

> PREPARATION

The secrets to unleashingyour inner bargain guruStick to a list, take breaks

and map out your day

to survive the retail mayhem

TANYA ENBERG

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

PLANNING continued on U8

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 SECTION U ON ON1

U2TORONTO STAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ON ON1 V2

BLACK FRIDAY

When it comes to Black Friday of-ferings, the GTA’s newly vibrant lux-ury shopping segment should givewell-healed Canadians a reason toshop at home, says Jim Danahy, CEOof retail advisory firm the customer-Lab in Toronto. “We’ve certainlyseen an expansion in that segmentand we expect more of it,” he says.

In the past few years, the GreaterToronto Area has seen American luxretailers Nordstrom and Saks FifthAvenue arrive on the scene, whilehomegrown Holt Renfrew has ex-panded its presence with four storesin the GTA. “We’ve never seen somuch competition in the luxuryshopping category,” says Danahy.

What’s driving the growth? At leastfor the American retailers, it’s a func-tion of the fact that growth at homehas been sluggish, says Wendy Lieb-mann, CEO of WSL Strategic Retail.And when they’re looking to expand,they tend to look for “places wherethere seems to be space in the mar-ket to offer unique choices and thatare more culturally familiar and af-fordable,” she says. “In the case ofCanada, there’s a lot of real estatespace.”

But when it comes to holiday deals,Danahy warns, “Black Friday andluxury shopping are a bit of an oxy-moron.” Although many of these re-tailers may offer special promotionalmerchandise for the holidays, “theytend to compete more on assort-ment and service, than on price,” hesays.

For example, Nordstrom — whichnow has locations in the Eaton Cen-tre and Yorkdale shopping centre —is known for its attentive sales staff.It has hired an additional 11,400 sea-sonal employees for stores in Canadaand the U.S., about 9,500 of them insales and stock positions.

Nordstrom will kick off the holidayseason with free silver gift boxes inevery department and its own army

of elves; better known as personalstylists. Although the stylist service isavailable free year-round, it’s a par-ticularly “helpful time saver duringthe busy holidays,” says spokes-person John Bailey.

Customers can make an appoint-ment with a stylist by phone, online

or in person, he says, and they’ll “takecare of everything on your list fromfinding the perfect gift to deckingyou out for party season. They’ll evenput items in gift boxes and ship yourpackages.”

Nordstrom isn’t dispensing withsales either.

It will offer an extra 20 per cent offselect clearance items from Nov. 24through Nov. 28, for example. ButBailey says the company still doesn’treally have a sense of how Black Fri-day will “translate in Canada,” sinceit just opened its doors.

Saks Fifth Avenue will put the focus

on customer service this holiday sea-son. Its 150,000 square foot space inthe Eaton Centre and the slightlysmaller Sherway Gardens locationalso offer personal stylists to givecustomers the kind of VIP treatmentthey can’t get just anywhere. Thinkaccess to a private lounge and roomyluxury shopping suites.

And if you’re looking for shoes . . .well, Saks Eaton Centre location of-fers more than a thousand pairs tochoose from, including an entire ta-ble of Manolo Blahnik. Called 10022,the Saks shoe section is named afterthe original Manhattan store’s shoedepartment — it was so expansive itrequired a new zip code.

Indeed, Saks’ holiday window dis-play at the Eaton Centre store isworth a trip in itself. A confection ofcolourful candy and festive fashion,it was unveiled earlier this month bysinger Mariah Carey who belted outa version of “All I want for Christ-mas” for a crowd of thousands.

That said, “don’t expect a whole lotfrom Sak’s that is price-related,” saysDanahy. “They may have specialmerchandise and special offers, butit’s less likely to be driven by price.”

Ditto for Holt Renfrew — whichDanahy calls the “doyen of luxuryretailers in Canada.” The stores havealready begun to display an assort-ment of high-end stocking stufferssuch as a Rebecca Minkoff cardhold-er ($100) and an Anya Hindmarchcoin purse with a pixelated smile($395). And you’ll also find a range ofseasonal cosmetic gift sets ranging inprice from $32 to $2,415.

“The U.S. retailers in Canada recog-nize that Black Friday is a NorthAmerican thing and will not be sofoolish as to say, ‘We’re not doinganything,’” Liebmann says. “Theywill offer promotions for the Canadi-an market.”

Still, she says, if you’re looking for aless frenetic shopping experiencewith plenty of assistance availablewhen you need it, by all means turnto the GTA’s expanding ranks of lux-ury retailers. But if you’re looking forknock-down, drag-out deals onBlack Friday, they may not be yourbest bet.

> SPOILED SHOPPER

Offering luxury service over door-crashing deals High-end retailers opt to put

emphasis on customer service

over big sales during holidays

CAMILLA CORNELL

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

The Eaton Centre Nordstrom store offers a unique kind of shopping experience when it comes to customer service.

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR

Stores like Saks Fifth, left, and Nordstrom offer shoppers luxury amenities such as VIP lounges and bar access.

ANDREW FRANCES WALLACE/TORONTO STAR DAN PEARCE/METROLAND

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U4TORONTO STAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ON ON1 V2

BLACK FRIDAY

For those debating whether to hitbrick-and-mortar stores or crackopen a computer for Black Fridaysales, first consider the type of shop-per you are.

Does the buzz of a busy mall orscouring the shelves of bustling big-box stores get you pumped?

Perhaps perusing local mom-and-pop shops or ducking into streetsidestores is more your style. Then again,you may have a penchant for snag-ging unbelievable bargains online.

Each approach has pros and cons,but thankfully the ever-growingBlack Friday extravaganza appeals toa wide ranch of shoppers, as Canadi-an retailers big and small, online andin-store, have embraced the event,happening Friday.

According to Michael E. LeBlanc,senior vice-president of member-ship, programs and revenue with theRetail Council of Canada, onlinebuying is expected to spike, based ontrends from previous years.

“Online growth is quite significant,”says LeBlanc. “The big trend is thatmachines don’t sleep. You can openyour website at midnight, but youdon’t have to open your stores atmidnight.”

Of course some crave the social andtangible experience of shopping.

For them, being able to touch fab-rics, try on garments, and inspect thequality of a TV screen is part of thethrill.

“Online shopping is a transactionalexperience as opposed to going to amall where it’s social and there arepeople and personalities,” offers Le-Blanc. “But there’s a mix there be-cause it’s also transactional.”

He observes that the way purchasesare made can also change based onthe item.

This means a person could findsmaller or unique items in theircommunity, order books and elec-tronics online — both are top online

purchases — “and then hit the bigbox stores for something else.”

For the crowd-adverse (or thosewho want to spend wearing pyja-mas), online is the way to go.

Plus, for car-free households in themarket for larger products, the con-

venience of having them shipped, of-ten for free, is too good to pass up.

“Set aside some time if you’re shop-ping online,” advises shopping pro,Cathie Mostowyk, president ofShoestringshopping.com

“Even if it’s two hours before workin the morning. If you know whatsize you are, it’s pretty easy to orderonline, and online retailers havemade it easy to make returns.”

She also encourages people to sup-port smaller local retailers on BlackFriday whenever possible because“it’s getting harder and harder forthem to compete.”

> IT’S PERSONAL

Knowing your shopping style can help you plan ahead

Shoppers at the Eaton Centre last December seemed to prefer a more hands-on approach to shopping.

CHRIS YOUNG/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Online shopping is a popular activity, even when on the go.

YANA PASKOVA/GETTY IMAGES

Find out whether you should

brave busy malls and stores

or browse on your computer

TANYA ENBERG

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

“Set aside some time if you’re

shopping online. Even if it’s

two hours before work. . .”

CATHIE MOSTOWYK

PRESIDENT OF

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The mother of all sales is upon us —music to the ears and good news forthe those on a budget and longing toreplace a noisy fridge, tired stove, orwonky washing machine.

While Francine Sternhall, directorof Aeroplan’s eStore says, “electron-ics tend to be the most popular(Black Friday) category.”

Meanwhile, Home Depot Canadaappliance merchant Cameron Skil-ling suggests that major applianceshave become “a leading edge.”

Shopping for large appliances onBlack Friday, he adds, has the advan-tage of being planned, unlike otherpurchases, which may come during a“retail breakdown” when decisionsare made in a hurry.

Planned purchasing means thebuyer has time to do product re-search when scoping out the bestBlack Friday deals.

Waylon Chow, sales associate atBest Buy Canada, thinks that may bewhy so many people are interested inbuying a full kitchen suite at thistime of year.

“People who are renovating andplan to buy everything at once duringthis time can save a lot,” he says.

Experts suggest that shoppersspend as much time as possible iden-tifying exactly what they want, vis-iting bricks-and-mortar stores andshowrooms, while taking advantageof online videos, reviews and specsheets.

Camille Kowalewski, head of com-munications for eBay Canada, saysmobile shopping has made Black Fri-day and Cyber Monday a more effi-cient, time-saving retail experience.

“You can shop wherever — on thetrain commuting home, and when-ever you have a moment or get abrilliant idea,” she says.

It’s important to move quickly tosnag a deal, so Kowalewski advises

shoppers follow their favourite re-tailers and online marketplaces onsocial media.

Your phone, she adds, could be asecret weapon for alerting you oftime-sensitive offers.

Once you know what you want,make a note of all relevant informa-tion, most especially the model num-ber. Then double check it, says Skil-ling.

“They’re like Latin, so be very cau-tious of those numbers and letters —a change in even a single digit canmake it a different colour, size, andhave different features.”

Don’t forget to measure: you don’twant to be those sad consumers whobuy appliances without measuringtheir placement, or the doors they

are expected to pass through. If you’re not sure how to do the

math, ask for help from associates,whether you’re online or in-store.

Tell the retailer, too, if there’s anappliance that needs to be removed.Many include free disposal with de-livery, but need to know ahead oftime for scheduling.

Bone up on the current, nonsaleprices of items you want. B

e ready to calculate how exchange,shipping, and return policies affectthe price.

Many U.S. sites convert prices toCanadian dollars, but do doublecheck the currency.

Always ask about matching pro-grams; at Home Depot, for example,if you find a better competitor’s price,they’ll beat it by 10 per cent.

Chow says shoppers should alsolook at loyalty points or financingoptions, and be aware of special

shopping features. In Best Buy’s case,it will reserve any item to pick up instore at the sale price.

It’s also important to ask about war-ranties, and what it costs to extendthem.

Shopping sales in-store may saveyou a bit more than shopping online,but Craig Calvert, director of cus-tomer solutions at UPS Canada, isn’tsure it’s worth it.

“Give your time a value. Do youwant to be in that stereotypical BlackFriday crazy lineup, or do you wantto be home on your couch?” he asks.

What’s hot during Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2016 will be the sameitems that have been hot all year, saysSkilling, noting upticks in large ca-pacity laundry sets, and black stain-less steel finishes.

Many consumers covet feature-rich, connected appliances, such asSamsung’s Family Hub, a refrigera-

tor with a front-panel interface that,among other things, takes images ofthe fridge’s interior, which the usercan access over a smartphone — say,at the supermarket.

LED lighting is another popular,and increasingly accessible, fridgefeature.

“It used to only be found in a $4,000fridge. Now it’s available in just aboutanything,” says Skilling.

He adds that manufacturers tryingto woo shoppers to buy new induc-tion technology may have notewor-thy price points this year. He alsoexpects large capacity laundry suiteswill be in high demand.

Don’t worry if you accidentallysleep through Black Friday and Cyb-er Monday.

According to Kowalewski, “It’s nolonger those 24 hours. Periods of salecreep beyond that; they’re being ex-tended beyond them.”

> BIG BOX

Appliance deals are on the front-burnerIf you need a stove or fridge,

Black Friday can be a good

time to make a big purchase

VICKY SANDERSON

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Slide-in induction ovens may breakthrough this year.

HOME DEPOT/SAMSUNG

Planning a reno around Black Fridaysales can reduce costs significantlyif you need to buy appliances likethese from Samsung.

JASON HARTOP PHOTO/JO ALCORN DESIGN

Shoppers will look for feature-richfridges, such as the Samsung Family Hub, which is exclusive to Home Depot in Canada.

SAMSUNG

Moving the heating element fromthe bottom to the back of LG’sProBake oven boast faster heat, and more even temperatures.

LG

KitchenAid’s black stainless steel25.8-cubic-foot fridge speaks totwo trends — black finishes andlarge interiors.

KITCHENAID

U6TORONTO STAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ON ON1 V2

BLACK FRIDAY

If you’re looking for a mattress thisfall, Black Friday may be one of thecheapest days of the year to buy one.“Black Friday has become a huge re-tail event in Canada and every retail-er is now competing directly for theshopping community,” says Jory Sol-omon, a “sleep expert” with SleepCountry Canada.

Solomon’s region comprises 12Sleep Country stores in Ontario andon an average weekday they sell$40,000 to $60,000 worth of mat-tresses. “Last Black Friday, we didmore than triple that,” he says.

That said, if you’re shopping for amattress on Black Friday, be awarethat this isn’t an uncomplicated pur-chase and stores will be crowded. Amattress store is basically a commer-cial space “with 40 squares, all atdifferent prices,” says Solomon. “Theaverage person really has no ideawhat kind of technology they containand what those features and benefitsreally mean. You really need a guidedtour with an expert.” Here are histips for getting a mattress you’ll behappy with for the long haul.

Shopping for a mattress is ateam sport. If you’re part of a cou-ple, shop with your partner. “Youboth have your own unique comfortlevel,” says Solomon. “And you’reboth going to be sleeping on it, soyou’re better to pick it out together.”

Beware the door-crasher spe-cial. “You will see these screamingdeals on Boxing Day at prices thatseem extremely low,” he says. “Butbefore you get too excited about put-ting that mattress in your masterbedroom, understand that is prob-ably the most basic-level bed in thestore.” If, on the other hand, you’replanning to put that bed in yourguest room, by all means go cheap.

A firmer mattress doesn’t nec-essarily provide better support.“We still deal with that misconcep-tion every day,” says Solomon. Thirtyyears ago there was truth to the ideathat a firm bed provides greater sup-port. “They used to take springs outof the firmest mattresses to softenthem and they’d call it medium.Then they’d take more springs outand call it soft,” says Solomon.

No more. The invention of the pil-low top or Euro top mattresschanged all that. “Now they don’ttake away support, they just addsome cushioning on top to make thebed softer,” says Solomon. “You canchoose your comfort level, whetherfirm, medium or plush, and it willhave no impact at all on the underly-ing support.”

Side, back or stomach? The posi-tion you sleep in matters. Althoughwhat appeals to you will be a matterof personal choice, as a rule of thumb,back or stomach sleepers gravitate tofirmer mattresses because theirweight is spread out. Side sleepers,on the other hand, “tend to prefersofter beds because their bodyweight is concentrated on the shoul-der and hip when sleeping,” says Sol-omon. “They’re putting added pres-sure on those joints and they needthe extra cushioning.”

You’re not just buying a mattress— you’re buying a ‘sleep system.’While your mattress can account forabout 80 per cent of your comfort,there are actually three parts to thesleep system: the mattress, the pillowand whatever the mattress sits on,says Solomon. Note that the minute

you put your new mattress on an oldbox spring, it negates the warranty.

Adjustable beds aren’t just forold folks. “A mattress doesn’t haveto go on a box spring. It can go on aplatform base or a lifestyle base [usu-ally called an adjustable bed],” saysSolomon.

“A lot of people used to think of thatas being only for the old and infirm,but the average age of purchase for alifestyle base now is about 42 yearsold. It’s people using laptops orwatching television — people whouse their bedroom for more than justsleep.”

‘Warm sleepers’ rejoice. “Being awarm sleeper is often disruptive to agood night’s sleep,” says Solomon.The good news: lots of mattresseshave cooling technology now — in-cluding foam mattresses that havelong been regarded as hotter to sleepon. “Foam is not a new technologyand in the ’80s and ’90s, it was a factthat it tended to absorb body heatand could make the bed warmer,”says Solomon. “But for almost 20years — especially in the last threeyears, due to technological advances— the foam is now the coolest part ofthe mattress.”

If you hate it, you can usuallybring it back. “Almost every retailerhas some form of home-trial period,”says Solomon. At Sleep Countrythere’s a 60-day home-trial period. Ifyou feel like the Princess and the Pea,you can return it and choose anothermattress. But don’t make a rush deci-sion. “It usually takes about twoweeks until you’re accustomed to thenew mattress,” he points out.

More thana place to restyour head Mattress shopping isn’t

just about price, as you

need to find the right fit

Before making a purchase, speak to experts about what kind of sleeper youare to establish which mattress will provide the best support for you.

KEITH BEATY/TORONTO STAR

CAMILLA CORNELL

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

> BEDTIME

When you do shop in store, he ad-vises, make sure you have a gameplan. Check the flyers and Lau’s web-site (CanadaDealsBlog.com) in theweek leading up to Black Friday andtry to cherry-pick the deals, concen-trating on stores that rarely havesales, such as Lululemon and the Ap-ple Store.

Finally, to beat the rush, you mightwant to shop early. “A lot of retailerskick off deals on Thursday at mid-night,” Lau points out. “That’s whenyou’ll find the best inventory and se-lection.” On the other hand, manysales extend throughout the week,and you may find the crowds thinnerif you hold off.

Limor Markman of Limor Moneystrives to empower young women totake strides toward controlling theirfinancial destiny through her web-site (limor.money) and her onlinevideos. And she practices what shepreaches.

“I only buy things on Black Fridaythat I was planning to buy anyway,”she says.

“A couple of weeks ago, my luggagejammed open on a trip, so I am total-ly waiting for Black Friday to buyluggage this year.”

Markman warns against simplyshowing up at the mall to see whatyou can find. Instead, shop with a listof things you need and holiday gifts(in which case, you should make sureyou can refund or exchange into Jan-uary).

Do your homework by scanning fly-ers and online sites in advance to findout who has the best discounts,Markman advises. “And make sureyou’re well-versed in the prices of thethings you want to buy,” she adds.“Otherwise you may think you’regetting a great deal and it may actu-ally not be.” A sign that screams ‘40per cent off suggested list price!’doesn’t mean much if the list price isinflated.

Another cautionary note: if you’rebuying online from a U.S. retailer,don’t forget that “the price isn’t actu-ally the price,” points out Markman.You have to do the currency con-version to Canadian dollars. In addi-tion, you’ll be charged an exchangefee on your credit card and you mayhave to pay duty and shipping fees(because often shipping is only freesouth of the border).

“That price may look amazing,”says Markman. “But by the time youpay all those extras, you may actuallybe paying more than in Canada.”

Toronto fashion blogger Jessica Biffi, who prefers shopping online,recommends doing some product research ahead of time.

ELLIOT PARROTT PHOTOGRAPHY

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BLACK FRIDAY

While technology has given rise tothe popularity of online shopping, ithas also had an impact on how weshop at “brick and mortar” stores, aswell.

Whether it’s to find a good deal, orto add convenience or enhanced se-curity to your purchase, a few soft-ware and hardware innovations arechanging the game.

Here’s a look at how tech is playing akey role at retail.

Before you shop Even if you plan on buying at retail,leverage websites and apps that canhelp you get the best deal possible.

“My first tip: preparation is key,”says Preet Banerjee, a personal fi-nance expert and creator of the You-Tube channel Money School. “Makea list of what you would like to buybefore you start browsing throughdeals and then tune out anythingthat isn’t on your list.”

Flipp, for example, is a free app andwebsite that lets you browse all theflyers to retailers in your area, so youcan see what’s on sale. There’s also aslider bar if you’re only interested insales that are, say, 20- or 30-per-centoff or higher. You can tap to readmore about the product, clip it into asaved section, add it to shopping listand print coupons from within theapp.

Banerjee says to also take advan-tage of websites such as RedFlag-Deals.com and the Black Friday sub-reddit section at Reddit.com.

Some online stores to traditionalretailers let you reserve the item forcollection in person, which couldsave you the aggravation of showingup to buy something only to find it’ssold out.

At retailThere are some apps to use while

shopping in-store, too. Some, likeShopSavvy and Red Laser, let youscan a product’s barcode off the shelfand might show you where it’scheaper somewhere else. Yes, this is aretailer’s nightmare.

“But unless it’s a large item, theextra cost of gas, parking and yourtime rarely tend to be worth usingthese apps, in my opinion,” cautionsBanerjee.

Another tech trend at retail: mobilepayments. Rather than pulling outyour wallet, many Canadians tap asmartphone or smartwatch on oneof those contactless NFC (near fieldcommunications) terminals to con-

duct a transaction. Usually capped at $100 or so, the

funds are then added to your creditcard bill or deducted from a bankaccount.

While it’s still early days, paymentservices such as Apple Pay, SamsungPay and Google Wallet make it easy— and fun — to buy something withyour tech.

And both solutions are very secure,says Barry Choi, personal finance ex-pert at Moneywehave.com. “Your in-formation is never saved by the mer-chants when using mobile payments,since it’s a one-time use ‘token.’ ”

What’s more, Apple Pay requiresbiometrics verification; place yourfinger or thumb on the Touch IDsensor built into the circular Homebutton to confirm it’s you. Other mo-bile payment providers may requirea PIN code for the digital handshaketo be made with the point-of-saleterminal.

“You’ll also want to make sure yourphone is secure by setting a PIN or

fingerprint scan,” adds Choi. “Thisway, it’ll be hard for thieves to getaccess to your banking information ifthey get a hold of your phone.”

And you no longer need to bringloyalty cards to the mall or depart-ment store, thanks to apps that holdthem all — digitally.

The abovementioned Flipp or appssuch as CardStar — which also workswith iOS and Android devices — letsyou scan all your loyalty cards; then,simply pull out your phone and havethe cashier scan your phone’s screenwhen buying items in-store, to en-sure you earn rewards points andother benefits.

Jessica Moorhouse, an award-win-ning personal finance blogger andhost of the Mo’ Money podcast, saysher favourite tech tip is for shoppersto load up their phone with virtualversions of their loyalty cards.

“Now you don’t have to rememberto bring all your cards with you. It’sgreat.”

Tablets are also being used by re-tailers, often as portable cash regis-ters for digital payments, such asiPads under the arms of sales associ-ates roaming the floor at AppleStores. The benefit? Customers arehelped right there on the spot, whichalso reduces line-ups at a conven-tional retailer.

After the purchaseThe technology doesn’t stop at thepoint of purchase.

American Express Canada, for ex-ample, recently launched Use Pointsfor Purchases, a new mobile-drivenfeature that allows card members toredeem membership rewards pointstowards everyday purchases chargedto their card, such as home items,consumer electronics, groceries oreven a dinner out with your signif-icant other.

After the purchase is made on thecard, card members launch the appor go to the Amex website (or call aphone number) to use earned pointstowards the purchase, to help lowerthe balance before the statementcomes.

> RETAIL TOOLS

How tech transforms the shopping experience From apps to virtual wallets,

the way we buy goods is less

hands on than ever before

MARC SALTZMAN

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Shoppers are using their mobile phones to compare retailer prices in real time and find the best deals.

MICHAEL DWYER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

You no longer need to bring

loyalty cards to the mall or

department store, thanks to apps

that hold them all — digitally

The hottest tech product on theplanet? It’s in your pocket.

More than 75 per cent of Canadiansnow own a smartphone — up from62 per cent just three years ago —and chances are you bring this digitaldevice with you everywhere.

And so it may come as no surprisemany are using it to shop, whetherit’s online shopping through apps orthe mobile web, or as a companion tohelp sniff out great deals at retail.

“Your phone can be an invaluableshopping tool,” says Rubina Ahmed-Haq, a Toronto-based personal fi-nance expert who runs the blog Al-waysSaveMoney.ca. “Our phones area lot more accessible than comput-ers, and there are many good and freeshopping apps to install and use,”Ahmed-Haq adds.

If you’re looking for some sugges-tions on what to load up your phonewith, the following free apps areworth considering.

FlippConsider Flipp,the ultimate flyeraggregator. Afteryou type in yourpostal code,browse the bestdeals at localstores or selectwhat retailersmatter to you —such as an elec-

tronics store, clothing chain, homeimprovement centre, departmentstore, or supermarket — and you’ll beable to see the latest flyers that show-case new products and sales aroundyou. Available for smartphones, tab-lets and computers, clip favourites,print coupons, press and hold on aproduct to read reviews, add items toyour shopping list, and see dis-

counted items by percentage off.Flipp also lets you store digital ver-sions of your loyalty cards to use atretail, when needed.

Ebates.caIt’s one thing tosave moneywhile shoppingsmartly, butwhat if youcould earn mon-ey back whileshopping on-line? That’s thepremise behindthe Ebates app

as it pays members cash back everytime you shop through participatingonline retailers and marketplaces —and there are many. Here’s how itworks: sign up for a free account, andthen every time you shop at one ofthe supported stores you’ll startearning cash that can be sent to youvia cheque, deposited into a PayPalaccount, or donated to a charity ofyour choice. Each store offers a dif-ferent cash back percentage.

Save.caOwned by thesame parentcompany as thispublication, thisCanadian appborrows ele-ments from bothFlipp and Eba-tes.ca: you canview flyers,price-match be-tween your fa-vourite local re-

tailers, and take advantage of cash-back offers and mail-to-home cou-pons. Save.ca also lets you createshopping lists to keep track of prod-ucts you want, plus you can scanloyalty cards and present them at theregister of retailers you frequent themost. The interface is clean and intu-itive.

ShopSavvyIf you’re hopingto find a bargainwhile shoppingat retail, Shop-Savvy takes ad-vantage of yoursmartphone’scamera by let-ting you scanbarcodes ofproducts in frontof you. Within asecond or two, you’ll see how muchthe same product costs online — or

nearby at a nearby competing store— including the option to get direc-tions to the stores that have the prod-uct cheaper (represented by col-oured pushpins on a map). Needlessthe say, retailers don’t like this appvery much. You can also do a searchby keyword, such as “Xbox” or “So-nos,” to find the best deals.

Amazon.caBrowse and buyfrom anywherelife takes you.Amazon.ca —the app — is aconduit to Ama-zon.ca the webstore, withmany millionsof products toorder from theconvenience of

your phone — including “1-Click” or-dering, if you like, which remembersyour shipping and payment details.Read reviews, view photos and vid-eos, create wish lists, and track yourorders. The Amazon.ca app now letsyou compare prices and check avail-ability by scanning a barcode, snap-ping a photo, or typing in the searchwindow. With Apple Watch support,you can use your voice to search forproducts, buy, and more, right fromyour wrist.

KijijiDon’t forgetabout onlineclassifieds apps,too, like Kijiji,which is No. 1 inCanada. Whileyou need towait for prod-ucts to ship toyour door withapps such asAmazon.ca, Ki-

jiji lets you buy local and with cash —and avoid shipping charges altogeth-er.

Contrary to popular belief, manyall-new products are listed on Kijiji,and not just previously owned ones.Of course, if you have something tosell, Kijiji is also a great place to off-load old or unwanted items in yourhome, and the app notifies you im-mediately if there’s any activity onyour account.

The other real benefits of mobileshopping? “You can be immediatelynotified of location-based deals andyou can keep all your loyalty andrewards cards on your phone, too,”Ahmed-Haq says.

> CONVENIENCE

Meet yourpersonalshoppingassistantsThese six apps will make

the best deals available

on your smartphone

MARC SALTZMAN

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

“Make sure you bring water andmake regular trips out to the car.Don’t try to carry it all. If you can,leave your coat in the car. And if yousee something you want, don’t wait.If you go back, it might be gone.”

Mostowyk also suggests bringingalong a friend and making a fun dayout of it, perhaps stopping for lunchand taking mini breaks throughoutthe day.

Canadian music publicist, PaulaDanylevich is a seasoned Black Fri-day enthusiast.

For more than a decade, she trav-elled to the States, where Black Fri-day began.

By now, Danylevich knows how totackle the day like a pro. She packswater and snacks and drinks a few“chai lattes” throughout the day tokeep her energy up.

“I spend a lot of time preparing,”she says. “I will print a map of themall, highlight the stores I want tohit, and will call them in advance tofind out what time they are opening. . . I always set a budget and try tostick to it.”

While Danylevich says she mainlyshops for shoes, handbags, eyewearand other fashion accessories, shealso buys presents for others.

“I can get 99 per cent of my Christ-mas shopping done in one day,” shesays. “For that I don’t keep a list be-cause you never know what you willfind on sale. If I am shopping forothers I’m always looking for the per-

fect gift for each person, somethingthat really speaks to me that I knowthey will love.”

Finally, get in a good head spacewith “a good night’s sleep and ahealthy breakfast,” says Michael E.LeBlanc, senior vice-president ofmembership, programs and revenuewith the Retail Council of Canada.

“When everybody’s thinking aboutshopping on the same day, that’s afun thing,” LeBlanc says.

“Bringing a great positive attitude isprobably the best way to prepare. It’sgoing to be busy. It’s going to be fun.And it’s going to be loud.”

Make sure to take breaks to avoid feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

A positive attitude goes a long way to lasting the dayPLANNING from U1

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> HOURS OF OPERATIONS

> UNIQUE FINDS

There are a number

of items on sale that

you might not have

considered purchasing

Sure, Black Friday is a good time to pickup those wireless speakers or upgradeyour smartphone, but it’s also a good timeto find deals on items you might not haveconsidered shopping for. Like vacuumcleaners, gas fireplaces and Lego.

While electronics remain one of themost popular items, along with clothingand accessories, Black Friday is an idealtime to buy kitchen appliances, accordingto Monika Hajzokova, Canadian sales di-rector with Shopbot, which has an inven-tory of six million items from more than400 retailers and brands.

“Kitchen appliances is one of our big-gest categories,” she says. “The topsearched item is the KitchenAid mixer,especially in the red colour.” That’s expec-ted to be a popular item again this year;other kitchen appliances up for grabs atdeep discounts are waffle makers and icecream makers.

“Keurig (coffee) brewing systems al-ways have good deals on Black Friday,”says Sari Friedman, marketing directorand resident shopping expert withEbates Canada. “It’s a great time to stockup on coffee, such as Keurig and espressopods. The Bay always has great deals onespresso pods.”

And it’s not just appliances for the kitch-en: most major big-box retailers are of-fering discounts on small appliances suchas vacuum cleaners and robotic vacuums.For those wanting to invest in a heavy-duty vacuum, such as a Dyson, Black Fri-day is the time to do it.

Shopbot has also historically seen aspike in sales of fireplaces (gas or ethanol-powered) over Black Friday. And, as bi-zarre as it sounds, it has also seen a spikein plumbing supplies during this timeperiod (perhaps, like fireplaces, it’s a sig-nal that shoppers are prepping for win-ter).

As the temperatures plummet, shop-pers aren’t just thinking about fireplacesand freezing pipes. They’re thinkingabout how they can escape winter — andtravel is another category where they canfind Black Friday deals. Several onlinetravel consolidators and travel agenciesare offering discounts on vacation pack-ages, as well as rebates or gift cards withtheir purchase (to be used for future trav-el, though there’s typically an expirydate).

Friedman recommendsthinking beyond TVs andcomputers and consid-ering options such assmart-home hubs andsmart thermostats.

Big-box retailers areoffering discounts onNest smart-home prod-ucts over Black Friday,she says, and Enbridgecustomers can then re-ceive a $100 bill credit fortheir purchase — a dou-ble win for shoppers.

While clothing andaccessories remainpopular, Black Fri-

day is a good time to look for deals ondesigner items. Many luxury retailers runsite-wide sales or offer deeper discountson certain categories, Friedman says.This year, in particular, should be inter-esting, with high-end U.S. retailers suchas Saks and Nordstrom now open in Can-ada, bringing their Black Friday tradi-tions with them.

Black Friday also kicks off the holidayshopping season, so it’s an ideal time toshop for others. Half of Canadians feel thedeals that retailers offer specifically forBlack Friday and Boxing Day are betterthan those offered in general during theholidays, according to new poll data fromEbates, which surveyed 1,000 Canadiansduring October.

“Canadians are planning to spend $200more on their holiday shopping this yearthan last year,” Friedman says. “It’s a goodtime to not just think about yourself butcrossing off things on your list: toys,books, beauty.”

When it comes to gift giving, there areplenty of deals to be had on women’sperfume, according to Shopbot. It’s also agood time to pick up toys, such as Lego, orsoon-to-be discontinued toy lines. RedFlag Deals predicts that toys from StarWars: The Force Awakens may be dis-counted this year, to make room for thehype train of Rogue One: A Star WarsStory. Shopbot has found that Quebec hasdifferent shopping behaviours on BlackFriday than the rest of Canada. Whileelectronics and clothing are still popularitems, the top-searched items fall underthe home decor category — in particular,blankets, quilts and duvets.

While the rest of the country may wantto consider checking out the deals to behad on home decor, some shoppers areconsidering much larger appliances —such as mattresses, dishwashers andcouches — that they’d traditionally buyduring Boxing week.

“Furniture stores tend to offer somegood discounts, but not as much as fash-ion and appliances,” says Hajzokova.

The take away from all this? Shoppersshould not limit themselves to clothingand electronics; consider holiday gifts, aswell as household or winter necessities.An added bonus to thinking outside theBlack Friday box: You probably won’thave to wrestle a mob of shoppers to getthat ethanol-fuelled fireplace.

Black Friday may bea perfect time to

get that dealyou’ve been

waiting for on a Dyson

vacuum.

Is Lego on your child’s wish list? Then look out for BlackFriday deals on all sorts of sets. It’s also a good time tosnap up toys from discontinued lines.

ON ON1 V3 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 TORONTO STARU9

BLACK FRIDAY

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Klipsch R6 HeadphonesBlack Friday price: $95.99Regular price: $119Where to buy: Klipsch.ca and allother Klipsch-carrying retailersYou’re not still using those white earbuds that shipped with your phone,are you? Treat your ears to some-thing much better — and on sale forBlack Friday and Cyber Monday. At20 per cent off the usual price, thenoise-isolating Klipsch R6 in-earheadphones with control cable fea-tures patented, contoured ear tips fora more comfortable wear over longperiods of time (and multiple tipsizes are included in the box). Mostimportantly, the same advancedacoustic engineering from Klipsch’slegendary Reference home theatrespeakers provides the performancein these R6 ear buds. The 3-buttonin-line remote can be used for fullmusic and voice control on mostsmartphones, plus the microphonelets you take calls, as well.

Samsung 55-inch 4K HDR Smart LED TV (KU6270)Black Friday price: $899.99Regular price: $1,299.99Where to buy: Best BuyAs you likely know, 4KTVs deliver fourtimes the resolution of 1080p HD,while HDR (“High Dynamic Range”),reproduces a wider range of bright-ness levels, richer colours and highercontrast levels (resulting in whiterwhites and darker blacks). At $400off, Samsung’s KU6270 TV is evenmore tempting. This 55-inch 4K HDRTV looks stunning, and includes aSmart TV platform powered by Tizen,to give you fast and intuitive access toyour favourite on-demand video appssuch as Netflix and YouTube, inter-active games, music streaming ser-vices, social media and more.

ASUS X-Series 15.6” LaptopBlack Friday price: $297Regular price: $399.99Where to buy: The SourceYou don’t need a $1,500+ laptop toturn heads. With its premium finish,the chocolate black ASUS X540laptop is slender, lightweight anddurable, with decent performance tohandle tasks such as web browsing,online shopping, social networkingand word processing. Powered by anIntel Celeron N3050 dual-core pro-cessor and 4 gigabytes of RAM (sys-tem memory), this 15.6-inch laptopfeatures an HD display (1366 x 768resolution), 500 gigabytes of storageand a 64-bit Windows 10 operatingsystem. Along with Wi-Fi and Blue-tooth, this laptop has multiple con-nectivity ports.

HTC One M9Black Friday price: $400Regular price: $849Where to buy: htc.comA huge discount on a premiumphone, HTC One M9 is a 5-inchdevice with several bells and whis-tles. This includes a comfortable anddurable metal unibody design, a20-megapixel camera with sapphirecamera cover lens and an impressivefront-facing camera, too. For enter-tainment buffs, it boasts front-facingstereo speakers with a built-in ampli-fier, HTC BoomSound, and DolbyAudio surround. On top of the An-droid operating system, HTC Sensesoftware lets you truly customize thelook and feel of the phone. Thirty-twogigabytes of storage is included, but amicroSD slot lets you add up to 2terabytes (roughly 2,000 gigabytes).

iRobot Roomba 870Black Friday price: $549.99Regular price: $699.99Where to buy: Amazon.ca appWhy clean your home when you canhave a robot do the dirty work foryou? That’s the idea behind the iRo-bot Roomba 870 Vacuum CleaningRobot, which is also ideal for thosewho have pets and allergies. Its Aero-Force 3-Stage cleaning system deliv-ers up to 50 per cent more cleaningperformance than previous models,says the company, along with tangle-free extractors to help prevent hairand debris clogs and a high-effi-ciency filter to trap fine dirt and dust.The disc-shaped vacuum cleaner’siAdapt Navigation technology uses asuite of sensors to navigate andadapt to your changing room envi-ronment, including an optionalscheduling feature if you want to doits thing without you there.

Canon T6iBlack Friday price: $879.99 (UntilNov. 24)Regular price: $949.99Where to buy: Best BuyThrough the looking glass. You don’tget a second chance to capture thatspecial moment. Rather than reachfor your smartphone, immortalizelife’s precious memories with theCanon T6i, a compact digital SingleLens Reflex (DSLR) camera and18-55mm IS STM Lens Kit. Take pro-fessional looking photos — quicklyand easily — so you won’t miss thatwinning goal, a candid smile or set-ting sun on the horizon. Along with its24.2-megapixel CMOS (APS-C)sensor, ultralow light sensitivity(extended ISO up to 25,600) and fastDIGIC 6 image processor, this cam-era shoots full HD videos, and hasbuilt-in Wi-Fi to instantly share yourhandiwork and NFC for tap-to-pairfunctionality with a compatiblesmartphone. When time and budgetpermits, build up your lens collectionwith a huge assortment of telephoto,wide-angle and macro options.

Acer Iconia B1Black Friday price: $77.00Regular price: $109.99Where to buy: The SourceWant a tablet but can’t afford aniPad? You’d be surprised how goodan inexpensive tablet can be, like theAndroid-powered Acer Iconia B1, onsale for just $77. Fast and light, andwith a high-resolution seven-inchscreen, this touchscreen tablet isideal for playing games, viewingvideos, reading ebooks, browsingwebsites and more. Along with sup-port for Google Play’s 1.5 milliondownloadable apps, this tablet in-cludes Bluetooth connectivity foroptional wireless keyboards, speak-ers, headphones and other accesso-ries. This quad-core tablet ships with16GB of storage, it can be expandedeven further via its existing microSDslot (up to 32GB), and packs twocameras.

Nikon D5300 SLR with dual lens kitBlack Friday price: $799.99Regular price: $1,294.99Where to buy: Best BuyIf 2017 is the year you want to starttaking breathtaking photos, Best Buyhas an aggressive sale on the NikonD5300 single lens reflex (SLR) andsome accessories to get you going.Along with this the exceptional 24.2-megapixel SLR (with DX-formatCMOS sensor), there’s both an 18-55mm lens for everyday photos andHD videos (with built-in stereo mi-crophone), as well as a 70-300mmtelephoto lens, and a camera bag tostore all your gear. Other features ofthe camera include a fast EXPEED 4processor, 39-point autofocus, highISO sensitivity, 3.2-inch vari-angleLCD screen, built-in editing tools andintegrated Wi-Fi to share your mem-ories on the spot.

DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter Drone with CameraBlack Friday price: $799.99Regular price: $1,079.99Where to buy: Bestbuy.ca (onlineonly)Are your kids droning on and onabout wanting a quadcopter? OK,bad pun, there. But whether it’s forkids or kids at heart, save $280 offthe white Phantom 3 AdvancedDrone with this online-only Best Buydeal. Take to the friendly skies withsmooth and intuitive controls and asit’s soaring around, shoot smooth1080p HD video (or 12-megapixel stillphotos) and even watch the footageon your smartphone or tablet whileyou’re flying. Fly at a top speed ofnearly 58 km/h, and enjoy a line-of-sight range of up to 2,000 metres. Asa safety measure, if the connectionbetween the controller and drone isbroken, the autopilot takes over andbrings your drone back to you. Fly forup to 23 minutes between charges.

CHECK TECH OFF YOUR

HOLIDAY GIFT LIST What’s the only thing better than getting hot deals over the holidays? When you can get the deals and all your shopping done before Decembereven rolls around. Between Black Friday, Nov. 25, when retailers slash prices,and Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, where you’re encouraged to shop online, youcan score great deals on hot products. And if it’s tech you want, you’ve cometo the right place. From televisions, tablets and laptops to gaming consoles,headphones and smart-home appliances, expect to get a lot of bang for thebuck by shopping this weekend. The following are a few of our faves andwhere to find the deal. By Marc Saltzman

> GADGETS GALORE

U10TORONTO STAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ON ON1 V2

BLACK FRIDAY

If you’re shopping for a new comput-er — perhaps taking advantage ofaggressive Black Friday and CyberMonday sales — you might’ve no-ticed they’ve slimmed down consid-erably over the years.

Borrowing many of the featuresthat make a tablet appealing — thinand light in form, responsive touch-screen, fast performance — youmight think computers have an iden-tity crisis, but it’s simply the newnorm.

Here’s a look at what’s trending, andwhy, and a few other considerationswhen buying a computer for yourselfor a loved one.

Touch muchKeyboards are still ideal for long-form typing, but touch screens arefar more intuitive for other tasks.Tapping, flicking, swiping and pinch-ing feels natural, especially whenlooking at photos, reading ebooksand playing games.

Aptly called “2-in-1s,” a growing cat-egory of Windows computers areboth a laptop and tablet in one. Insome cases, the screen bends back360 degrees, tucking the keyboardunderneath so you can carry and useit like a tablet. With other “detach-able” 2-in-1s, you can remove thescreen altogether, leave the keyboardbehind and use the screen as a tablet.

Thanks for the memoryWhen it comes to storage — total filesyour device can hold — you’ll noticemany computers today offer SSD(solid state drive) storage opposed toHDD (hard disk drive).

If you can forgive the jargon soup,SSD storage is like the Flash memoryin your smartphone, which is small-er, lighter and faster than a harddrive, with no moving parts — unlikea spinning hard drive — which notonly makes it less prone to damage,but it’s much easier on the battery.

The only downside to SSDs is lessstorage capabilities, on average, thanan HDD. For instance, a laptop mayonly have 128 gigabytes of SSD stor-age, compared to 1 terabyte (roughly1,000 gigabytes) on an HDD.

But with many streaming serviceslike Netflix (movies, TV shows) andSpotify (music), which doesn’t re-quire you to download files, it’s less ofan issue these days.

So, which one to buy?Because of all the options available,buying a new PC can be quite thefeat.

“When shopping for a new comput-er, consider these three things: whatyou need it for, the desired screensize, and your budget,” says Ted Krit-sonis, a technology journalist basedin Toronto. “Sticking to what youwant, with those three consider-ations, is the best place to start whenlooking for a new device.”

You’ll also need to decide on anoperating system, brand and formfactor.

“Before you go shopping, make sureyou figure out what you’re going to beusing the computer for,” Macky Reb-elo, category sales manager at theSource, suggests. “Because you canuse it as a laptop or a tablet, the2-in-1s are very appealing, whetheryou go with a convertible or a detach-able model.”

Demanding computer gamersmight opt for a super powerful desk-top PC instead, he adds.

Finally, pick the specs you need,such as processor, screen size (andtouch or no touch), storage capacity(SSD or HDD, and how much), sys-tem memory (RAM), graphics per-formance and battery life, to namesome of the big ones.

“At this point, go with a solid pro-cessor and with at least 4GB of RAM— this is a must for any average user,”Kritsonis says. “If productivity mat-ters, however, you will want to go alittle higher on those components toensure the laptop lasts longer.”

When it comes to power, try to buya little more than you think you needtoday, so you’ll likely hold onto thecomputer for a longer period of time.

> SCREEN TIME

Picking a PC that’s right for you Before you hit the shops,

know what you like and what

you need from a machine

MARC SALTZMAN

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

ASUS T100

Transformer Book

It’s been 88 years since Idaho farmboy Philo T. Farnsworth successfullydemonstrated the first “moving pic-tures” transmission.

Little did the humble inventor oftelevision know we’d still be staringat the fruits of his labour well into the21st century — though today’s mod-els bear little resemblance to thethree-inch flickering black-and-white box first shown in 1928.

If you’re in the market for a newtelevision, here are five trends toconsider.

4K UHDYour next TV will be a while lotsharper. Referred to as “ultra-highdefinition” or sometimes “4K,” thesenext-generation televisions offerfour times the resolution of a top-of-the-line 1080p HDTV. In otherwords, instead of a screen that hasroughly two million pixels — the lit-tle dots that make up the image —these televisions boast more thaneight million pixels.

In plain English, 4K TVs presentimages so lifelike and clear it’s likepeering out of a giant window.

HDRThe latest televisions also offer HDR,or “high dynamic range,” which re-produces a wider range of brightnesslevels, richer colours and higher con-trast levels. Basically, this not only

means that you’ll see the blackestblacks and the whitest whites at thesame time, but also that no detailswill be lost in between.

Smart TVMost new TVs today — even entry-level $199 models — allow you toconnect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

Smart TVs allow you to access on-line content, be it for video stream-ing, social networking and so on.

Many Smart TVs give you a full webbrowser, too, so you can use a searchengine or visit websites.

CurvedFinally, some television manufactur-ers, like Samsung and LG, offercurved TVs that slightly bend to-wards the user, just like the screen atyour local movie theatre. To manyviewers, these concave screens offera deeper and more cinematic view ofthe action.

It boils down to personal taste —some may prefer a flat-panel TV in-stead — but having a choice at retailor online is great for everyone. Butit’s hard to deny these curved TVs areattractive conversation pieces, evenwhen turned off.

> WATCH IT

TV watching that’s like real life Five trends to look out for

when you’re purchasing

a new television this year

MARC SALTZMAN

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Hisense 4K TV

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BLACK FRIDAY

Why do automakers put on BlackFriday sales, anyway? Do they reallyexpect you to buy someone a car as agift for the holidays?

No, probably not.But this time of year happens to

coincide with model year change-over time for quite a few automakers,which makes it a happy conveniencethat Black Friday gives them an ex-cuse to apply deep discounts and getthe 2016s off the lots to make roomfor shiny new inventory. And some-times, if you dig deeper, you mightfind deals on 2017 models as well.

And if that means a few people hap-pen to spread some holiday cheer bypicking up a set of wheels and a gi-gantic bow, so much the better.

Here are some of this year’s bestBlack Friday deals on cars. These de-scriptions are overviews; visit thewebsites of the respective automak-ers to review the specifics and fineprint.

Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesFor FCA and its subbrands — Chrys-ler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat —Black Friday is one of the biggestretail events of the year. Smaller saleshave been ongoing all month, but thebiggest incentives started on Nov. 21and run until Nov. 26: over$1,500,000 in additional discountshave been added to a maximum of$25,000 each, plus every customergets an extra $500 cash discount and0-per-cent financing is available onselect models. One lucky customerwill even win a new vehicle worth up

to $40,000.Entering is a two-stage process:

first go to blackfridaygiveaway.ca toget a PIN code, then take that code toa dealership before Nov. 26 to spin awheel to earn your additional dis-counts.

General MotorsThree of GM’s marques — Chevrolet,GMC and Buick — have had a BlackFriday sale going for most of themonth offering 20 per cent off themanufacturer’s suggested retailprice. This equates to cash creditsranging from up to $3,059 on a 2016Chevrolet Spark LT subcompact

hatchback with air conditioning andan automatic transmission (basedon an MSRP of $15,295), all the wayto as much as $16,647 on a 2016 GMCSierra Denali HD pickup (based onan MSRP of $83,235). These salesrun until Nov. 30.

NissanNissan’s Black Friday sale runs fromNov. 23 to 30. While offers varyslightly across the country, there area few highlights you can count onfinding at your local dealership.á A purchase of a 2016 Micra SR sub-compact hatchback with an auto-matic transmission can receive up to

a $3,055 discount from an MSRPstarting at $15,988.á Buying a 2016 Murano Platinummid-size SUV can get you up to a$3,355 discount from an MSRPstarting at $44,248.á A 2016 Pathfinder SL three-rowSUV purchase can net up to a $7,355discount from an MSRP starting at$41,398.á Grab yourself a Titan XD PlatinumDiesel pickup and you can receive upto a $15,000 discount from an MSRPstarting at $74,900.

If there’s a model you’re eyeingthat’s not listed here, there’s a goodchance it’s on sale as well. Check with

your local dealer for specifics andexact pricing.

VolvoVolvo is taking a slightly differentapproach: its event is not so much aBlack Friday sale as a goodwill holi-day event, something they’re callingtheir Thoughtful Test Drive cam-paign.

For every test drive taken from Nov.7 until Dec. 31, Volvo will make adonation to your local United Way orCentraide charity with a goal of do-nating a total of $100,000. In addi-tion, those who complete a test drivecan save up to $4,000 on select 2017Volvo models and earn up to 100,000Aeroplan miles on their final pur-chase.

FordFord of Canada’s Black Friday “Easyto get into a Ford” offers start on Nov.17 and runs until Nov. 28. (Thesedates are slightly different in Que-bec; check with your local Ford deal-er for details.) Shoppers can save upto $3,500 on a 2016 Focus compactsedan or hatchback or Fusion mid-size sedan, or on the 2017 Escapecompact SUV and up to $8,000 onmost 2016 F-Series pickup trucks.

HyundaiFor its Black Friday event runningfrom Nov. 18 to 28, Hyundai is of-fering a $750 discount on all modelsof its redesigned 2017 Elantra com-pact sedan on top of any existingdiscounts. The Elantra LE, for ex-ample, comes with a six-speed auto-matic transmission, air conditioningand Bluetooth, will be available for$49 per week on a 36-month leasewith zero down payment, 0-per-centfinancing and with the additional$750 off.

> FROM THE DEALERSHIP

Out with the old and in with the new Automakers offer deals to

clear out this year’s models

and make room for new ones

STEPHANIE WALLCRAFT

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Sales consultant Terry Bu explains the features of a new model at the Mississauga Hyundai Black Friday sale.

JON NICHOLLS FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Black Friday has also come to Swe-den, Russia and Spain, where Criteonotes it’s become the “peak of theholiday season.” Even in France,where the bargain day isn’t really athing, online retailers that offereddeals saw an 84-per-cent sales spikein 2014.

In China, e-commerce giant Aliba-ba Group created a retail event thatdwarfs Black Friday. In 2009, itlaunched the 11.11 shopping festival,which falls on Nov. 11, the world’slargest 24-hour online shoppingevent. The festival — which coincideswith Singles’ Day, a Chinese folk holi-day for young people to celebratetheir independence — generated$14.45 billion in gross merchandisevolume in 2015, up 40 per cent from$9.3 billion in 2014. That far surpass-es the U.S. online shopping tallies forBlack Friday and Cyber Mondaycombined, which totalled a mere$3.07 billion. It’s evidence of a re-markable uptick in online shoppingamong Chinese consumers, partic-ularly the country’s booming mid-dle-class population.

Online shopping has been key toBlack Friday’s global spread, as well.

In the U.K., while retailers see plen-ty of in-store, door-crashing actionon Black Friday, the event is par-ticularly lucrative for e-commercechannels. Experian Marketing Ser-vices-IMRG notes that shoppersthere spent $1.87 billion online onBlack Friday in 2015, 36 per centmore than the year before.

U.K. retailer Argos received 12 mil-lion web visits and saw 18 transac-tions a second on Black Friday lastyear. It was Argos’ biggest day everfor digital orders, according tospokesperson Jon Dale, “and we ex-pect Black Friday to be a big event forretail again this year.”

While global retailers have adoptedBlack Friday, Varon at Forresternotes they’re also differing slightly intheir approach. “They’re harnessingthe omni-channel element,” cateringto consumers through mobile devic-es and encouraging online purchaseswith in-store pick-up, helping toavoid the logistics headaches, bottle-necks and supply issues that canplague peak shopping days.

They’re also seeking to avoid “flatout, door-buster, all-in” U.S.-stylepromotions, she says, and are,be-coming savvier about how they’reconverting and driving sales. Thiscould mean time-sensitive “flashsales” or deals on select productlines, or for loyalty members only.

Steering clearof door-busterapproachWORLDWIDE from U1

Technology is an amazing thing. It’sallowed us to be more connected andyet more mobile than ever before.

It’s also making our lives easier andsafer, especially where cars are con-cerned. These days, our vehicles canhelp us keep in touch and stay pro-ductive even when we’re behind thewheel, and they can also alert us todanger and even call for help.

Here are five cool things today’scars can do that make drivers’ lives alot easier out on the road.

Fully integrate with your smart-phone. Smartphone app functional-ity is rocketing to the top of the prior-ity list for many prospective car buy-ers. It’s not unusual these days tohear someone decide whether to buya car based on whether Apple Car-Play and/or Android Auto are avail-

able options. And it’s no wonder:both apps make it easier than ever tostay connected to loved ones or col-leagues, avoid horrific traffic jams, orlisten to your own music on the go.

Unfortunately, there’s no rhyme orreason to figuring out whether thecar you’re eyeing will have the appintegration you’re looking for. Nearlyall automakers are at some stage inthe process of rolling these out, butsome are a lot further down the roadthan others. The easiest way to checkagainst your shopping list is to visitthe websites for each app that listtheir participating marques and ap-plicable models: Apple CarPlay’s is atapple.com/ca/ios/carplay/available-models/, and Android Auto’s is atandroid.com/intl/en_ca/auto/.

Create a Wi-Fi hot spot. How doyou keep teenagers happy on longdrives? A car-integrated Wi-Fi hotspot is probably as close to an answeras you’ll get. There are third-partydevices that will let you do this, butthey’re rarely as easy to work with aspressing a button on your infotain-

ment screen.Many automotive brands offer this

functionality either through an ac-cessory, a built-in device that acceptsa SIM card, or a connected smart-phone. Vehicles in the General Mo-tors family (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick,and Cadillac) stand out by connect-ing to the Internet via the OnStarcommunication system, which al-lows for separate data usage trackingand billing that can be more cost-effective than mobile data plans.

Remote drop rear headrests.Sometimes it’s the little things. Youdrop a mob of kids off at hockeypractice and head back out becauseit’s your turn to do the coffee run, butsomeone put the headrests up andnow you can hardly see out of yourrear-view mirror. Then you climbback in with three trays of coffee,drive off, and look up only to realizeyou forgot to fix it when you werestopped. A front-seat button wouldbe much easier, right?

This is an overlooked safety featurethat is found only on a couple of cars:

it’s available on the Dodge Durangoand the Volvo XC90 (though the lat-ter folds only the second-row re-motely, not the third). It’s amazingthat it’s not more common becausethe scenario certainly is.

Autodial 911. This feature isn’t dis-cussed nearly as often as it should begiven the direct role it can play insaving lives. If your phone is connect-ed to a compatible infotainment sys-tem and the car detects a crash, 911will be dialed automatically withoutany human intervention required.

> THE PERKS

Hook that car up with latest in techFrom Wi-Fi hot spots

to autodial 911, our vehicles

are more connected than ever

STEPHANIE WALLCRAFT

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Seamless integration withsmartphones is a tech feature manycustomers expect in cars.

STEVE FECHT

When it comes to buying cars, mostCanadians shop with a wish list inhand.

Bare bones choices are out there:you can get a base model subcom-pact such as a Chevrolet Spark orNissan Micra for under $10,000, andthat’s all the car some people need.

But Canada’s climate isn’t the mostforgiving for drivers. It’s well-knownthat there are features out there thatcan make life a lot easier and morepleasant through those long winters,many hours spent on the road, andthat some of the more desirable onesno longer break the bank.

Here are some of the features Cana-dians seek out most and where tofind them at a great price (Listedfigures are before taxes and fees):All-wheel drive:If you live in a placewhere the weather can sometimespack a real wallop — and let’s face it,pretty much all of us do — being ableto send power to all four of yourwheels can be a lifesaver.

Subaru has long touted its Impreza

compact four- and five-door modelsas offering the most affordable all-wheel drive in Canada with sedansstarting at a manufacturer suggestedretail price of $19,995. A completeredesign is on tap for the 2017 modeland will begin arriving in dealershipsin December. So, you can either waiton the new one for its more robustlist of standard features, larger cabinand cargo space, and upgraded in-fotainment system, or you can headout now and try to score a deal on a2016 version.Heated seats and steering wheel:This highly desired feature was oncea luxury and a pipe dream for manyCanadians but is now priced wellwithin reach.

Hyundai has been ahead of thecurve in introducing heated seatsand steering wheels as standardequipment on many of its models.The new 2017 Elantra compact se-dan brings standard heated frontseats right down to the base model,which starts at $15,999 (or $18,499with a six-speed automatic transmis-sion). Upgrade to the GL trim andyou’ll also get a heated steering wheelfrom $20,349.A backup camera: All new cars willbe required to have one beginning inMay 2018. But if your new car pur-

chase can’t wait that long, consider aHonda Civic.

This was the 2016 Car of the Year asvoted last winter by the AutomobileJournalists Association of Canada(AJAC), and for good reason: there’sa lot of value packed into its $16,390starting MSRP, including a multi-an-gle rear-view camera. If you spring togo up one trim to LX to get out of themanual transmission and add theCVT (from $20,590), your cameragains guidelines and you also getheated front seats and Apple Car-Play/Android Auto functionalityamong other features.Collision mitigation: You used tohave to dig pretty deep into Toyota’strims to find some of the more pop-ular safety features, but that’s chang-

ing as they’re beginning to maketheir Toyota Safety Sense productsuites, all of which include someform of forward collision mitigation,standard equipment in all but ahandful of their vehicles for the 2017model year.

This means that for $16,290 you canbuy a Toyota Corolla that comes withthe pre-collision system with pedes-trian detection, lane departure alertwith steering assist, dynamic radarcruise control and automatic highbeams. For this level of safety sophis-tication, that’s a ripping deal.A third row: All of the cars men-tioned so far are compact sedans orhatchbacks. What about Canadianfamilies on a tight budget who needmore than five seats?

The go-to answer is still the DodgeGrand Caravan, which gets you threerows of seating and over 4,000 litresof total rearward cargo space startingfrom $24,145 (plus that base pricegets you an automatic transmission).

But if a minivan isn’t for you, Dodgestill has you covered. The base trimon the Dodge Journey is called theCanada value package, and when youadd the optional third row you canget into a crossover with an automat-ic transmission and seven seats for$23,920.

> UP WITH THE TIMES

Automotive bells and whistles are within your reach We rounded up five features,

once considered luxuries,

that are on drivers’ wish lists

STEPHANIE WALLCRAFT

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Hyundai has kept ahead of the curvein introducing features in modelssuch as the new Elantra sedan.

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