Quebecers shopping for the holidays expect to spend $1,090 in stores, up $120 from last year, even though the majority believe the province will enter a recession by the end of the year.
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The October Barometer of the Quebec Retail Trade Council shows a four-point drop in the consumer confidence index, to 78%, the lowest level since winter 2021. Twenty-one percent of Quebecers believe that the economic situation will deteriorate and 59% believe that a recession will hit us by the end of 2022.
The concern is especially felt among women, people aged 45 and over and households with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000. Inflation continues to be a concern, as 57% of Quebecers expect prices to rise in the coming year.
The expected increase in holiday spending appears all the more surprising in this context of pessimism, but also given the fact that 31% of Quebecers consider that their financial situation has deteriorated over the past six months.
This is the case of Claire Labrie, 62, who lost her job at the start of the year due to disability. She runs the sales.
Photo Valerie Lesage
Claire Labrie, 62, lost her job at the start of the year and she is running the sales for Christmas shopping.
“And I find some! It must be, because I have ten grandchildren, ”says the lady, met at the Galeries de la Capitale in Quebec, when she also offered herself a rare outing to the restaurant.
“I calculated my business and paid myself a little splurge,” she says with a smile.
A third of consumers expect to spend less than last year, a proportion 5% higher than in 2021. At the same time, a quarter of consumers will buy more.
Four out of ten Quebecers plan to take advantage of the Black Friday sales and half will buy online on November 25.
Gifts make up the largest share of holiday spending, with an average budget of $323, up 21% from last year. Food is the second largest item of expenditure and consumers plan to invest $159 in this
segment, the same as last year. Given the high food inflation in the past year, this forecast is likely to come up against the shock of reality.
More details to come…