It's the peak spending season for Christmas and New Year, but the current economic situation is really worrying – Canadian consumers are becoming more and more "frugal" in the face of inflation, rising interest rates and rising food prices.
Yesterday (Friday), retail analyst Bruce Winder said in an interview with Toronto CTV News: "Unfortunately, given the economic situation in the fall, we will see many retailers go bankrupt in January and February. ”
Winder says that many shoppers aren't buying full-price items right now, putting pressure on stores to offer discounts:
"Most people are saying that they have to find a way to spend Christmas cheaper than last year. ”
"You're going to see more consumers waiting for promotions, and people looking around online for something they can save money on. ”
In addition, there are many DIYers who choose to buy second-hand goods, and then modify and refurbish them themselves, and then wrap them as gifts, which is unique and innovative, and Winder calls this phenomenon "Thriftmas", and these people usually choose to celebrate at home rather than go out to eat, and this year's economic situation has made more and more people choose to do so.
Peter Goldsztajn, vice president of enterprise data and analytics at Moneris, said in an interview with CTV News in Toronto that consumers have set their sights on promotions, and they are not in a hurry at all, and even want promotions to be stronger and last longer.
Goldsztajn said that consumers clearly want promotions like Boxing week and Black Friday to last for a whole month, "which is a trend that we see accelerating." ”
It is worth noting that the data shows that retail sales have already seen a significant decline this shopping season, and experts expect the weekend before Christmas to be a busy weekend, with the last Saturday before Christmas, dubbed "Super Saturday" by many retailers, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but it is not yet known how the data will be.
Winder said the second half of 2024 could be better for Canadian retailers if interest rates fall, freeing up more cash for Canadian consumers.
Canadians are running out of money and spending less Christmas
This is also supported by data from Nanos Research, a North American data survey and strategy research firm, of Canada's Christmas and New Year holiday consumer market, with slightly more than half of Canadians saying they will spend less during the holidays, and 13 times more planning to spend less.
The survey compares Canadians' spending attitudes with last year's survey data in terms of holiday spending, gift purchases, holiday food spending, and holiday socializing.
In terms of holiday consumption, 54% of the respondents said they would reduce consumption, an increase of 11 percentage points compared with 43% in the survey in the same period last year, and only 4% of the respondents said they would increase consumption, a decrease of 6 percentage points from 10% in the same period last year, and the number of people who plan to increase consumption is 13 times that of the planned reduction, and another 42% said that it will be the same as last year.
In terms of gifts, 53% of the people surveyed said they would reduce their spending, 41% said they would stay the same as last year, and only 4% said they would increase their spending, which is 13 times the number of people who plan to reduce their spending.
In terms of holiday food spending, 49% of respondents said they will prepare festive meals at home and reduce eating out this year, which is basically the same as last year's survey data.
In particular, middle-aged people bear the brunt of downgrading consumption – respondents aged 35 to 54 say they have the highest percentage of reduced spending, reaching 62%!
When people reach middle age, there are old and young, and it is really bitter haha.
Regionally, 59 per cent of Atlantic residents said they would reduce spending, the highest among provinces, while Ontario's 49 per cent was the lowest among provinces.