It has been acknowledged for quite a while now that Canadians have been slow to adopt many of the shopping practices of their neighbors to the south. As millions of American consumers have used ecommerce, mobile shopping and in-store pickup for years now, Canadians are only slowly bringing themselves to do this.
According to a couple of reports outlined by the CBC, Canadians are projected to use their computers for their shopping needs this holiday season at an immense rate. This is surprising to some business experts because only six percent of overall sales in Canada are completed online, compared to 15 percent in Great Britain and 10 percent in the United States.
This year, Canada Post expects 20 percent of its deliveries between November and December will be related to ecommerce. The federal mailing agency has been seeing the trend of buying online soar in the past year alone.
Furthermore, Canadian consumers are using their smartphones and tablets for both market research and purchases.
Industry professionals note, however, that it isn’t necessarily the fault of the Canadian consumer for the lack of ecommerce. Business analysts aver that retailers up north haven’t been quick to institute this type of technology as they have been in the U.S.
Holiday outlook to be slower
The Bank of Montreal released its new report entitled “2014 BMO Holiday Outlook,” in which it discovered that consumers are taking a more frugal approach to Christmas shopping this year. Canadians plan on spending just over $1,500 this year, compared to more than $1,800 a year ago.
Only 11 percent of consumers expect to go into debt this year, down from 14 percent last year, though 28 percent actually went into debt.
Here is what the average consumer will spend their money this year:
- Gifts: $551 (2013: $678)
- Trips: $677 (2013: $689)
- Entertaining: $211 (2013: $282)
- Miscellaneous: $79 (2013: $161)
“With slower job growth this year, and many new jobs being part-time positions, Canadians are facing weaker income growth heading into the holiday season,” said Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets, in a statement. “Recent stock market volatility and elevated household debt could also dampen sales.”
A Deloitte study, meanwhile, found that Black Friday will be a huge thing for Vancouver shoppers. A majority of Vancouverites will do most of their Christmas shopping before December.