Today is the busiest shopping day of the year in Canada

Dec 21 2018, 11:33 pm

Days might start to get longer after today’s winter solstice, but checkout lineups around the country will continue to grow as December 21 marks the busiest shopping day of the year in Canada.

In a phone call with Moneris, one of Canada’s largest debit and credit processors, a customer service employee said that the busyness business volume today is expected to be bigger than Black Friday and Boxing Day.

Moneris, which handles roughly one-third of electronic transactions in the country, says that today at 2 pm is the peak hour when shopping malls and stores are busier than any other day of the year.

“By Friday, online shopping gets too tight, as far as delivery goes in getting a package by the 24th, so if you’ve procrastinated, by Friday you’ll be going to the store,” says Jeff Guthrie, chief sales and marketing officer with Moneris.

Last year, Canadians spent the most and completed the highest number of transactions on Friday, December 22 (the Friday before Christmas), followed by Black Friday and Boxing Day, respectively.

Data released from the company also found that Newfoundland had the most last-minute shoppers, followed by British Columbia and New Brunswick.

Province Increase in number of transactions YOY (year-over-year) on December 22
BC +8.00%
AB +6.00%
QC +5.00%
MB +6.00%
NB +8.00%
NL +13.00%
NS +7.00%
SK +3.00%
ON -3.00% (Note: The GTA had an ice storm this time last year)

Good luck to all the last minute shoppers, that spiked eggnog is going to taste that much sweeter after braving the crowds.

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