TORONTO, Nov. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Whether they've been naughty or nice, the vast majority of Canadians (86 per cent) plan to be more generous this holiday season, with anticipated spend up almost $200 over last year, according to a recent poll by Ebates.ca. Roughly half plan to shop on the three biggest shopping days of the year: 45 per cent will shop on Black Friday, 43 per cent on Cyber Monday and 53 per cent on Boxing Day.
"Canadians overall appear to be more optimistic about this holiday shopping season," said Sari Friedman, Marketing Director and resident shopping expert, Ebates.ca. "But while they may be spending more, our survey indicates that Canadians are also likely getting more for their dollar by utilizing clever shopping strategies."
Shopping trends for 2016
Fifty-nine per cent of Canadians cite shopping for gifts at the mall as their least favourite part of getting ready for the holidays. As a result, more Canadians are turning to online shopping to avoid the chaos, with 82 per cent saying they will do at least some holiday shopping online (up from 76 per cent last year). And, they expect to save an average of 24 per cent versus shopping in stores. Overall, convenience, the ability to find things not available in stores and better prices are cited as the top reasons that make online shopping appealing. Women are more likely to cite convenience as a benefit of online shopping (28 per cent vs. 21 per cent for men) while men are more likely to cite price as a benefit (21 per cent vs. 12 per cent).
Spending is expected to be up across nearly all categories as compared to last year. The top items that Canadians are shopping for this holiday season, in-person or online, include clothing and accessories (76 vs. 67 per cent in 2015), electronics (61 vs. 55 per cent), books (56 vs. 54 per cent), toys (53 vs. 46 per cent), health and beauty (52 vs. 43 per cent) and sports and exercise gear (31 vs. 21 per cent). On average Canadians plan to spend around $600 on holiday shopping, compared to $402 last year.
Smart strategies
Get the coffee brewing! The majority of Canadians who say they plan on shopping online on Black Friday and Cyber Monday say they plan to stay up late so they catch the sales the minute they become available online (67 per cent cited staying up on Black Friday and 56 per cent cited staying up on Cyber Monday).
Men are more likely than women to say they plan to play the night owl to catch these online sales. This is consistent with men being more likely to value online shopping for the best price (21 percent versus 12 per cent for women), while women are more likely to say they value it for the convenience (28 per cent versus 21 per sent for men).
Canadians are also increasingly employing a range of strategies to stretch their holiday shopping budget. Nearly two-thirds redeem loyalty program points to purchase gifts and 59 per cent make a point of shopping with retailers that offer loyalty points. New this year is that 27 per cent are using store mobile apps to make purchases. Other shopping strategies include:
How prepared are Canadians?
Over a quarter of Canadians say that their spouse is the hardest to shop for. Men in particular say they struggle with what to buy their wife (38 per cent say their wife is hardest to buy for compared with 23 per cent of women who say their husband is the hardest to buy for). Perhaps that's why almost a quarter say they plan on leaving their holiday shopping to the last minute. In fact, the stereotype of the last minute male shopper is based on some truth with men significantly more likely than women to describe their shopping style as last minute (26% vs. 16%).
About the survey The Ebates Canada survey was conducted online in October 2016 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Canadians. A sample of this size is accurate to within +/-3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About Ebates Inc. The Ebates brand supports a strong community of millions of savvy shoppers around the world. Ebates.com was founded in 1998 and has paid over $300,000,000 in cash to its global members. In 2012, Ebates began international expansion with the launch of Ebates Canada, specifically designed by Canadians for Canadians. Ebates.ca membership is free. To earn cash back, online shoppers log in to Ebates.ca and click through to a partner retail site to complete their purchase. Ebates.ca then tracks the purchase and offers back in cash a percentage of everything bought. Every quarter, Ebates.ca sends members their cash back account balance in the form of a #BigFatCheque or #BigFatPayment through PayPal. Members also have the option to send their cash back to a designated charity.
SOURCE Ebates Canada
Image with caption: "Ebates (CNW Group/Ebates Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161115_C7248_PHOTO_EN_817858.jpg
Media contact: Jamie Sanders, BlueSky Communications, [email protected], cell 647 228 3850
Share this article