Nearly Half of Canadians Shopped for Deals on Black Friday

Sixty-seven per cent of Black Friday shopping took place online

TORONTO, Dec. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - Canadians seem to have officially adopted our American neighbours' biggest holiday shopping bonanza, with 46 per cent saying they shopped on Black Friday this year and 37 per cent on Cyber Monday.  And the majority of Canadians who shopped on Black Friday and Cyber Monday did so online – 67 percent and 89 percent respectively. In fact, (bosses, look away) not only did many shoppers stay up late the night before to catch deals, many employees did their online shopping while at work.  45 per cent say they shopped while at work on Black Friday and 41 per cent on Cyber Monday.

"Canadians must have been inspired by the deals because they reported spending more than they anticipated," said Sari Friedman, Marketing Director and resident shopping expert, Ebates.ca.  "Even still, our survey shows they have continued confidence about spending over the holiday season through to Boxing Day."

Merry Christmas to me

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the start of the holiday gift-shopping season, 35 per cent of Canadians shopping on these days were purchasing gifts for only themselves. In fact, the shopping tides seem to be changing, as more men (40 percent) than women (28 per cent) who shopped on Black Friday bought only for themselves, with nearly identical numbers for Cyber Monday. On average, Canadians spent $253 on Black Friday and $181 on Cyber Monday, and men spent almost $60 more than women on both days. Many of those shopping on either of these days also made great headway on their lists, saying they finished 40 per cent of their holiday shopping, on average.

And what were the top items purchased? Many shoppers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sprang for big ticket items such as trips and major appliances, but the top three items on both days included clothing and accessories, electronics and toys, with electronics (42 percent) edging out clothing and accessories (38 per cent) on Cyber Monday. 

Shopping Stamina

Those who have shopped in the past on Black Friday (23 per cent) and Cyber Monday (22 per cent) say that this year's deals were better than those they had seen in previous years, with an average savings of 38 per cent on Black Friday and 35 per cent on Cyber Monday. Online shoppers saw an additional five per cent in savings vs those shopping in-store.

One thing is certain; Canadians took advantage of the range of deals available to them. The majority of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers made use of percentage discounts (75 per cent), dollar discounts (65 per cent) and BOGO discounts (18 per cent), while those shopping online used coupon or promo code websites (38 per cent), cash-back websites such as Ebates (34 per cent) or digital coupon/promo codes sent by retailers.

And majority of Canadians are anticipating that their shopping stamina will continue through to Boxing Day, with an anticipated spend of $400 on average. Those who will shop on Boxing Day say they will likely shop online (77 per cent).

About the survey The Ebates Canada survey was conducted online November 29, 2016 with a nationally representative sample of 1,027 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/20161206_C4639_PHOTO_EN_831899.jpg

Jamie Sanders, 647-228-3850, [email protected]