More than 15 years after Quebec extended store hours Monday through Wednesday, some shop owners in malls want those hours cut back.

In 1990, Quebec legislators allowed shopping malls to stay open as late as 9 p.m. on weeknights, but it only became a routine part of rental agreements in many malls around 2004.

Since that decision, though, the internet has become a dominating retail force and many merchants say it no longer makes sense to keep their storefronts open when foot traffic is very light.

“The returns are minimal, honestly minimal,” said Marwan Bachour, owner of designer clothing store Influence U. “After 6, after 7, the people they're not going shopping, it's done. The day is done. If you're working during the week, there's the weekend, there's Sunday shopping. Sunday shopping is good.

Bachour said he now shuts his doors at 7 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, saying the extra hours just don't justify hiring extra staff. As it stands, many stores can't find enough workers to stay open.

“If I had to stay those three extra hours open, I need an extra six people on the floor,” he said.

Many merchants contend that even if they reduced their hours they would not see a decrease in sales and so would end up being more productive.

They also say with the drop in the unemployment rate they are having trouble finding employees willing to work for a salary they can afford to pay.

"Even if you were open 24 hours a day seven days a week, people have a certain buying power. They won't spend double what they're typically spending because you've got extended hours so you're just spreading the sales over longer hours," said Jean-Francois Grenier of Altus Analytics.

The firm studied the issue and determined that longer hours don’t always mean higher profits.

"Opening stores when you don't have any customers within the stores or within the shopping centre, it's costly for the retailer," said Grenier. “Even if you were open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, people have a certain buying power. They won't spend double what they spend because you've got extended hours.”

For their part, mall owners said merchants have to work as part of an ecosystem, and say that when all stores are open in a mall, it makes the entire environment more attractive.

They point out that more food courts and mall restaurants attract more customers when they are open late, as compared to weekends when malls close at 5 p.m.