(Toronto) Faced with high inflation that is reducing their purchasing power and economic uncertainty, Canadians should cut back on their holiday spending this year, says a new report.
Posted at 1:11 p.m.
In its latest holiday shopping survey, Deloitte Canada says overall holiday spending is expected to drop 17% to $1,520 per household as recession fears and rising interest rates constrain budgets.
Canadians also plan to shop earlier and seek out bargains in an effort to stretch their purchasing power, the report said.
The report, which is based on a Leger poll of more than 1,000 Canadians conducted in late August, found that more than a third of respondents expected to start shopping earlier than a year ago.
Retailers seem to be responding by rolling out Christmas-themed products earlier, and some are even advancing their holiday promotions earlier in the fall.
Amazon Canada, for example, launched a “Prime Priority Access Sale” last week, offering subscribers of its Prime service a special two-day shopping event.
Meanwhile, Black Friday – a massive retail event that traditionally marks the start of holiday shopping for many consumers – increasingly represents the time when many Canadians plan to end their seasonal spending instead, according to the Deloitte survey.
“We’ve seen a pretty big jump in the number of Canadians who will finish shopping by Black Friday,” said Marty Weintraub, Partner and National Retail Advisory Leader at Deloitte.
The poll found that 26% of respondents would finish their holiday shopping by Black Friday, up from 18% last year.
“All retail seasons in recent years are getting earlier and earlier,” Weintraub noted. The retail market is competitive. »
The expected reduction in spending this year is unusual compared to conventional retail trends, he said.
“Canadians are telling us they’re going to cut spending, which is not typical,” he said. We have seen it increase year on year, except in 2020.”