When it comes to shopping on Plaid Friday (small biz version of Black Friday), it’s best to have a strategy, especially if you’re waking up to catch the 6 to 8 am deals. Not only do you want to shop smart, you want to shop fast so you can make it to all the other stores that are opening early. It’s quite a long list, so make sure you not only think about what you want to get in the stores; but make a plan about where you want to go. For myself, I would be hitting Pacers, and my daughter would be running to fibre space - and we might split up to divide and conquer at that stop since they are close. To start strategizing, see all participating stores and restaurants.

Okay, now back to strategy at our three stores. First off, if there is something on sale you have been eyeing, this is your chance to get an extra 30 percent off, on top of the sale price, if you come in early. We have loads of new markdowns so it is a great time to get a really amazing deal. Next up, I would say shop the new arrivals. We just unpacked resort from Citizens of Humanity, Tibi, Veronica Beard and Ulla Johnson at The Hive. At The Shoe Hive, we unpacked new arrivals from AGL, Tibi, Freda Salvador and a restock of the Rupert Sanderson Deirdre platform in black. Safe to say these items won’t be marked down for a long time.

Next up, there are the items that never go on sale no matter what – except for these few hours. We are talking about brands like Adina Reyter, ASHA by ADM and most of Lizzie Fortunato. Or how about sunglasses by Krewe and readers by Caddis? We never add those to sales because they always move. Then of course there are always great candles from Boy Smells, Skeem, Votive and Noalux. Really any of the gift items are unlikely to go on sale before they’re sold out, so this is the perfect time to stock up. We always find so many great things at the gift show so you never know what you might find. This year we have chocolate and marshmallows, both great for kids.

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The earlier you shop, the bigger the savings. If you aren’t an early bird, you’ll still get 20 percent off from 8 am to 10 am then 10 percent off the rest of the day. Of course, you can always shop what’s left on Cyber Monday as well, and from the comfort of your couch. There are lots of great options as we kick off the holiday shopping season. Thank you for shopping small!

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