MONTREAL -- It's the final weekend before Christmas, and there are worries on the streets of Montreal that the new Omicron variant may disrupt last-minute dashes to a boutique for a gift.
At Quartier Dix-30 on Montreal's South Shore, staff was ready for an onslaught of shoppers, but as of mid-day on Sunday, it was surprisingly quiet.
"I don't understand what has happened today because it's a beautiful day, so I (was) sure they would have more people than that," said one shopper.
On Monday, stores and shopping centres go to half capacity, part of a slew of new public health restrictions announced last week to try to curb the current wave of COVD-19 infections.
"With the restrictions that are coming in, I thought people would be getting their last 'let's get out before the Monday new restrictions come out', so that actually adds to the shock that there's not more people here," said a shopper.
While malls may have been relatively quiet on the weekend, some smaller retailers have been seeing a surge of customers this weekend.
"I really think that yesterday was super busy because the restrictions are going to kick in on Monday," said Kidlink owner Ramzi Soueida.
Soueida said that his sales are good despite the shadow of uncertainty cast by the Omicron variant.
"Yesterday was our busiest day of the year," he said. "It was shaping to be a good season."
Empty shops and halls in malls in the Montreal region have many businesses worried.
"This month of December, the last days before Christmas are critical for the retail sector, for the restaurant sector," said Francois Vincent of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses.
Vincent said retailers fear that the new restrictions will drive shoppers online.
"We are afraid that people will do their last Christmas shopping on the online giants and that will not be good for the Quebec economy," he said.
