More U.S. retailers are gladly coming north of the border and expanding into the Manitoba area.
The U.S. chain Marshalls is the most recent American brand to arrive. The new store opened up in the area of Polo Park, where a new complex has been established, named Polo North.
It isn’t entirely clear yet, according to the Retail Council of Canada, whether or not fewer Canadians are travelling south of the border to do their shopping in light of the recent additions in Winnipeg. It’s expected that the true test of people’s shopping habits will come with the much anticipated opening of Target later in the spring.
Retailers in areas like Grand Forks and Fargo haven’t yet seen a reduction in their business from Canadians but as more American stores come north, allowing easier access for Canadian shoppers, it may be safe to assume people will travel south to do their shopping a little less frequently.
U.S. retailers making the leap across the border into Canada do so in a continual effort to expand their North American market share.
Most of the openings have had a significant buzz built behind them prior to the actual opening dates. Marketing budgets are often spent on strategies involving banner printing and poster printing; these help to create awareness of the new arrivals to the Canadian market.
Over the 2013 Easter holiday long weekend, traffic across the border increased dramatically when compared with last year’s figures; 19,500 people returned home from the U.S. over Easter in 2013 but only 11,000 in 2012.
