Canadians fully embracing shopping season in spite of slower economy and lower dollar

TORONTO, Nov. 9, 2015 /CNW/ - According to a recent poll by Ebates.ca, the vast majority of Canadians (79 per cent) plan on spending the same or even more over the holiday season as they did last year, but they will be smart about it. Around half of Canadians plan to stretch their holiday budgets and take advantage of the deals during the biggest shopping days of the year: 45 per cent will shop on Black Friday; 40 per cent on Cyber Monday and 53 per cent on Boxing Day – which in Canada is still viewed as the day with the best deals.

"While the economy may not be predictable, Canadian shopping habits are," said Adrienne Down Coulson, General Manager, Ebates.ca.  "Our survey demonstrates that shoppers employ a range of clever strategies when it comes to shopping smart and stretching their budget during the holiday season."

Shopping trends for 2015

The overwhelming majority of Canadians (76 per cent) say they will do some holiday shopping online this year, with 27 per cent claiming to do more online than last year.  Convenience, the ability to find things not available in stores and better prices are cited as the top reasons that make online shopping appealing.

It might be surprising, but shoppers are more likely to buy for themselves than others on the three big holiday shopping days. About one in three are only buying for themselves on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day, however it is worth noting that more than half of people are buying for both.

The top items that Canadians are shopping for this holiday season, in-person or online, include clothing and accessories (67 per cent), electronics (55 per cent), books (54 per cent), toys (46 per cent), health and beauty (43 per cent) and sports and exercise gear (21 per cent). On average Canadians plan to spend around $420 on holiday shopping this year.

Make your loonie go further

The survey indicates that many Canadian shoppers already have smart savings tactics in place around their holiday spending, such as shopping early and monitoring online for deals and cash back offers. About a quarter of Canadians have their shopping completed before the winter season begins giving them plenty of time to take full advantage of incentives such as cash back offers (42 per cent), loyalty program points to purchase gifts (58 per cent) and shopping with retailers that offer loyalty points (56 per cent). About half of shoppers are making a point of finding retailers that offer coupons, while many people are using social media (35 per cent) to find deals.

Here are a few more tips that will keep shoppers in the black this holiday season: 

• Get cash back for just about everything you can buy online. Earn cash for purchases you would make anyway from any of your favourite retailers through Ebates.ca. With more than 200 retailers offering double cash back on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there is no need to fight the crowds at the malls or drive across the border to save extra cash on top of the deepest discounts you'll find all year long.
• Offset the falling loonie. Shop from your home and native land. Look for on par deals and free shipping from Canadian duty free retailers. More and more great Canadian stores are online now; this holiday season think about shopping online at Well.ca, Shopper's Drug Mart's Beauty Boutique, Mark's, ShoeMe.ca and SportChek.
• The early (and late) bird gets the worm. It's true that traditionally Black Friday sales start in the early morning hours, but shopping late at night can also pay off, with retailers offering deals that kick-in at midnight. Every year, we also see more and more retailers offering promotions the week leading up to and following Black Friday. If you sign up for merchants' emails in early November, you'll get a heads up about sales that start on Thursday or even earlier.
• Make the most of what's free. With the holidays being a peak sales season for retailers, many will offer free shipping or the option to pick up in the store. Loyalty, cash back and rewards programs will also be upping their game offering impressive points that can be used to get free merchandise, extra cash or gift cards.

About the survey The Ebates Canada survey was conducted online in October 2015 with a nationally representative sample of 1000 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.

For savings and great deals follow Ebates on:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

SOURCE Ebates Canada

Image with caption: "Ebates Canada (CNW Group/Ebates Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151109_C8156_PHOTO_EN_539364.jpg

Media inquires contact: Jamie Sanders, 416-929-7740, [email protected] or Tara Bolger, 416-929-2052, [email protected].