Buyers beware: Inflated costs over the holiday season continue to hit home - RBC Poll

• $580 the average amount spent over budget; $727 in the Prairies, and $687 in B.C.
• 57% found it hard to cover inflation impact on costs; 67% in Atlantic Canada and 59% in Quebec
• Those with children had the highest expenses across gift categories

TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2023 /CNW/ - Canadians made the most of the first holiday season in three years where they could celebrate in person with family and friends, but many of them are still feeling the after-effects where it hits hardest – their wallets, according to the annual RBC Post-Holiday Spending & Saving Insights Poll.

Over one-third (38%) of holiday season shoppers went over budget by an average of $580, substantially higher than last year's average of $414. More than half (57%) found it hard to cover the costs of holiday gifts, mostly due to the impact of inflation. And over one-third (36%) think it will take them until April or longer to get their finances back on track.

It was an especially expensive holiday season for Canadians with children, who overspent the most and expect to take the longest for their finances to recover. The majority responded they felt the impact of inflation on their holiday spending (80%) and found it tough to cover holiday expenses and gifts (70%). Over half (56%) spent more than they intended to, going over budget by $614 on average, significantly outspending the national average in key gift categories:

• $284 vs. $189 – gifts of experiences
• $203 vs. $68 – gifts for pets
• $161 vs. $77 – toys
• $146 vs. $79 – mobile devices/computer electronics/gaming consoles
• $140 vs. $127 – gift cards
• $133 vs. $61 – entertainment items (DVDs, games, books, iTunes)

When asked how long they thought it would take for them to get their finances back on track, half (49%) of these families estimated between April and June or longer.

"It was hard to contain the joy of being together again this past holiday season and our excitement spilled over into generosity. This collective spending has created a long payback period, with many carrying these debts into the spring," said Rachel Megitt, Vice President, Term Investments & Savings and RBC InvestEase. "This can be really hard on family and individual budgets. And before we know it, the next holiday season will be here and this debt cycle begins all over again."

Helping Canadians get their finances back on track
Megitt noted that Canadians who spent more than intended already have some actions in mind to get their finances back on track in 2023, including spending less on entertainment and other discretionary items, to use those savings to help pay off expenses.

"To complement those actions, we also have a no-stress digital savings solution that can help you save money," explained Megitt. "NOMI Find & Save uses predictive technology to analyze your regular deposits and expenses, and automatically put aside money it thinks you won't miss. These automatic savings may start out small, but they can build really quickly, without any effort on your part. Even better, between now and next holiday season, you could have set aside enough extra savings to make a real impact on your gift-giving expenses."

Offered to clients at no cost within the RBC Mobile app, NOMI Find & Save also makes it easy for clients to view their balance, as well as pause and restart the automatic savings, 24/7. They can move money back into their regular bank account whenever they wish; they are in complete control. Over the last year alone, NOMI Find & Save has saved an average of $473 per month for clients who are actively using the account.

"We always ask Canadians what they would do if they found some extra money in the upcoming year. For 2023, the top choice was 'pay down debt'," added Megitt. "Imagine what impact saving up to $473 a month would have on helping to keep debt under control."

Fast Facts

2023 RBC POST-HOLIDAY SPENDING & SAVING INSIGHTS POLL National & Regional Comparisons
RESPONSES	NAT'L	BC	AB	SK/MB	ON	QC	ATL
ALL RESPONDENTS:
Overspent in holiday season	38 %	35 %	32 %	47 %	41 %	35 %	42 %
ALL OVERSPENDERS:
Average amount overspent	$580	$687	$536	$727	$625	$452	$436
ALL RESPONDENTS:
Tough to cover costs of holiday gifts	57 %	58 %	49 %	52 %	55 %	59 %	67 %
Will take until April or longer to get finances back on track	36 %	34 %	33 %	31 %	37 %	35 %	37 %
Felt impact of inflation on their holiday spending	71 %	77 %	68 %	70 %	70 %	68 %	76 %

2023 RBC POST-HOLIDAY SPENDING & SAVING INSIGHTS POLL National & Canadians with Children Comparisons
RESPONSES	NATIONAL	WITH CHILDREN
Felt impact of inflation	71 %	80 %
Tough to cover costs of holiday gifts	57 %	70 %
Overspent in holiday season	38 %	56 %
Average amount overspent	$580	$614
Will take until April or longer to get finances back on track	36 %	49 %
Expenses by gift category:
… family/friends experiences	$189	$284
… pets	$68	$203
… toys	$77	$161
… mobile devices/computer electronics/gaming consoles	$79	$146
… gift cards	$127	$140
… entertainment items (DVDs, games, books, iTunes)	$61	$133

2023 RBC POST-HOLIDAY SPENDING & SAVING INSIGHTS POLL National, Age Group & Gender Comparisons
RESPONSES	NAT'L	18 – 34	35 – 54	55+	M	F
ALL RESPONDENTS:
Overspent in holiday season	38 %	57 %	41 %	19 %	37 %	39 %
ALL OVERSPENDERS:
Average amount overspent	$580	$748	$474	$402	$677	$476
ALL RESPONDENTS:
Tough to cover costs of holiday gifts	57 %	67 %	64 %	40 %	55 %	58 %
Will take until April or longer to get finances back on track	36 %	41 %	45 %	21 %	36 %	35 %
Felt impact of inflation on their holiday spending	71 %	67 %	77 %	67 %	69 %	73 %

About the 2023 RBC Post-Holiday Spending & Saving Insights Poll
A total of 2,000 surveys were completed online by Ipsos among Canadians aged 18+ from January 3 to 5, 2023 using the Ipsos I-Say Panel for this poll, which has been conducted on behalf of RBC since 2011. Quota sampling and weighting was employed in order to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual population of Canadians, according to Census data. The precision of online polls is measured using credibility interval. In this case, the results are accurate to within ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been surveyed. Credibility intervals will be wider for smaller subsets of the population.

About RBC's NOMI
Over the past five years, NOMI has grown into a powerful digital capability, delivering personalized insights that help clients build confidence in managing their money. In that time, clients using NOMI Find & Save have put aside more than $3.6 billion in savings. NOMI Insights for RBC InvestEase, introduced last year, helps clients start and stick to their savings and investing strategies with timely nudges when spare cash is available. NOMI Budgets now keeps track of even more expenses, from groceries to household expenses. And NOMI Forecast can now track clients' income, pre-authorized and scheduled payments, transfers and RBC investment contributions. More information about all NOMI capabilities is available at www.rbc.com/NOMI.

About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 95,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

SOURCE RBC Royal Bank

Kathy Bevan, RBC Corporate Communications, [email protected], 647-618-2287