KITCHENER -- Black Friday doesn't seem to be driving shoppers to brick and mortar stores like it used to.
"I was really pleasantly surprised. I expected it be a lot busier," said Josh Rinz, who was out shopping for Christmas presents.
Although there were small crowds lined up outside of Best Buy in Waterloo this morning, the store staff says it's not drawing the same size crowds as it has in prior years.
"Definitely not as busy as years past," said Chris Landoni, store leader for Best Buy.
Landoni says online shopping is making a dent in the number of people lining up in front of stores.
"With our reserve and pick up option in store now, you can comfortably reserve items online from home and can come get it whenever you please," he explained.
Meaning fewer customers want to wake up early for discounts they could just as easily access online.
"It's a little easier to do it at home and sometimes the deals are even better," said Rinz.
Plus there's the added factor of convenience of having an item shipped right to your front door.
However, foot traffic is expected to pick up later in afternoon when people start to get off work, and if that happens, Best Buy says they'll be prepared.
"We basically have the entire staff in today and they're working a few extra hours on top of what they'd normally work" explained Landoni.
So, even though it's not shopping chaos, compared with the rest of the year Black Friday is still finding a way to get shoppers through the door.
