Canadian Consumers Plan to Overwhelmingly Shop Online & Will Support Canadian Retailers This Holiday Season In Light of COVID-19, Says RedFlagDeals.com.

Consumers Await Black Friday Deals To Do The Bulk Of Their Holiday Shopping. 

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2020 /CNW/ - RedFlagDeals.com is the leading provider of online promotions and shopping deals for Canadians. 2,500 RedFlagDeals.com users were surveyed to get a better understanding of their shopping habits and preferences leading up to the 2020 gift giving season. Our results showed that RedFlagDeals.com heavily influences their holiday shopping research and buying process. 

Holiday Shopping Research & Buying Process

Of the 2,500 Canadian consumers replying to the RedFlagDeals.com 2020 Holiday Shopping Survey, 94% report that they will shop more online this holiday season due to COVID-19. 88% responded that they will research online before going in-store to make purchases.

An astounding 96% of respondents answered that visiting RedFlagDeals.com has a direct influence on their purchase decisions. 71% replied that "Forums/Online Communities" are their primary source for conducting their online holiday shopping research. Kate Musgrove, director of RedFlagDeals.com said "Our forums have 1.2 million registered users and more than 27 million posts. If you're researching a purchase, RedFlagDeals.com has a forum thread with all the information you need." 

Why Consumers Will Shop Online 

The bulk (85%) of respondents answered that the best deals are found online vs. in-store. Furthermore, online shopping is more appealing to users since 79% found that in-person shopping was more stressful due to crowds/lines, limited inventory, pandemic concerns, etc. "Now more than ever, RedFlagDeals.com is an incredible resource for Canadian shoppers" said Musgrove. "We have deals, flyers, coupons, freebies, store closures, retail news and everything else you need to plan your holiday shopping from start to finish." 

When Consumers Will Shop 

The majority (90%) of Holiday shoppers plan to shop on Black Friday and 59% plan on doing the majority of their holiday purchases during Black Friday sales events. More than half of respondents (54%) will be shopping in November and December. Last minute shopping holds true for 32% of entrants that answered that they will finish their shopping 1-2 days before the holidays commence. "This is shaping up to be the busiest holiday season online ever. Shoppers and retailers alike are starting early and we expect strong sales to continue through the end of the year." added Musgrove. 

Holiday Shopping Economic Outlook

55% of entrants plan on spending $500 or more this Holiday Shopping season and 43% plan on spending the same amount as last year. A quarter of respondents will buy 10+ holiday gifts.

Top Gift Categories 

Electronics top the list with 90% of respondents planning to purchase the newest tech gadgets in the market followed by Clothing (60%), Home Goods/Appliances (42%), and Toys (30%). Musgrove revealed that "When pre-orders opened for the PlayStation 5, RedFlagDeals.com saw more than $1.2 million worth of orders in the first week alone. The console is coming out on November 12 and it's going to be huge this holiday season." 

Support of Canadian Retailers

Canadian pride rings true for 63% of shoppers who will make a point of supporting Canadian retailers this holiday season due to the ramifications of COVID-19 on the Canadian retail industry. "We were thrilled to see that Canadian shoppers are passionate about supporting Canadian retailers and keeping the Canadian economy strong. In the long run, a strong economy benefits everyone!" 

Online Shopping Trend Continues

In a recent interview with Retail-Insider, Kate Musgrove was asked if she expects this trend to continue. "I think we'll continue to see people shopping online, taking advantage of the new features that some stores have rolled out, like curbside pickup or click-and-collect style shopping where the customer doesn't have to enter the store, they pay online and the employees bring the products to their car." "It's that sort of hybrid that people have found really helpful in the past couple of months."

ABOUT REDFLAGDEALS.COM

Acquired by Toronto-based firm VerticalScope Inc. from Yellow Pages in 2018, RedFlagDeals.com® publishes thousands of deals and coupons across more than 70 categories. The leading provider of online promotions and shopping tools available to Canadians, RedFlagDeals.com® features financial tools, credit card comparisons, mortgage shopping and a mortgage calculator. Users can also customize their homepage to zero in on their interests more quickly. RedFlagDeals.com has nearly 5.7 million unique visitors per month, and 1.2 million registered users.

SOURCE RedFlagDeals.com

Tania Inverso, Director of Marketing, Verticalscope Inc., [email protected], 647-365-3905