Mario Toneguzzi is a Troy Media reporter based in CalgaryIt may be tied to an American holiday but increasingly Canadian consumers are doing their shopping on Black Friday.

According to the Retail Council of Canada’s (RCC) second annual Holiday Shopping Survey, which was released on Tuesday, 43 per cent of Canadian consumers plan to open their wallets on Black Friday, Nov. 29, the day after American Thanksgiving, compared to 40 per cent last year.

In contrast, 34 per cent plan to shop on Boxing Day, said the survey, adding that Canadians who plan to shop on Black Friday plan to spend a greater share of their 2019 holiday budget on Black Friday (38 per cent of holiday budget) compared with those who shop on Boxing Day (30 per cent of holiday budget).

“There was a time when Black Friday was a shopping event south of the border and a small number of determined Canadians would brave the lineups for a chance at scoring a good deal on everything from household appliances to electronics,” said Diane J. Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada, in a news release.

“Today, our breakthrough study proves that Black Friday has grown to be a part of Canadian shopping culture with retailers offering eye-opening deals, special promotions and exclusive products on offers that keep shoppers and their dollars here at home.”

The report also found:

  • 72 per cent of holiday shopping budgets will be spent in store with the remaining 28 per cent being spent online. Possible reasons: a majority of Canadians agree that finding the right gift can be challenging (67 per cent) and they prefer to shop in-person so they can see and touch the products (65 per cent).
  • 36 per cent believe they get better deals online than in-store during the holidays. And 44 per cent say Cyber Monday deals are better online, while 40 per cent think Boxing Day deals are better in-store.
  • Canadians plan to spend an average of $792, increasing from the $675 they said they were planning to spend on holiday spending in 2018.
  • 85 per cent consider it important to support Canadian retailers this season.
  • 28 per cent have already started their 2019 holiday shopping, and 72 per cent will have begun their shopping by the end of November.
  • The majority of holiday season spending, on average, will go to: food/alcohol/sweets for holiday entertaining (19 per cent), clothing (17 per cent), and toys (11 per cent).

“The retail brick-and-mortar apocalypse is a myth,” said Brisebois. “The study clearly shows that consumers continue to enjoy shopping in physical stores.  While the online channel continues to grow in popularity, our findings demonstrate the importance of building meaningful and personalized shopping experiences for Canadian consumers in all retail channels including brick-and-mortar.”

© Calgary’s Business


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