The holiday season is fast approaching, and as many Canadians are thinking about their finances, the country’s financial realities could impact how much they spend on Christmas this year.
Equifax conducted a nationwide survey, which suggests that six-in-10 Canadians will spend less on Christmas gifts, and 41% of respondents said they’d be limiting their holiday spending because of how much debt they’re carrying.
While most are pinching pennies, 12% are actually planning to spend more on gifts this year. In addition, 57% of consumers plan to prepare a budget for holiday shopping.
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Hard times could mean good news for local companies, as another tidbit the Equifax survey revealed is that more Canadians are planning to buy in-store to support local businesses.
It’s good news for small business owners, who were also part of a separate survey. Many feel more confident heading into the 2022 holiday season versus how they felt heading into the 2021 holiday season. Of those polled, 61% said they plan to do more in-store shopping, an increase of 10% compared to last year.
While COVID-19 still exists in communities across the country, there was some hesitance for shoppers to return to local retailers in-store due to heightened concerns over virus transmission last year.
Though the respiratory season has raised concerns in some provinces about the spreading of the virus this year, it seems to have dwindled compared to last year.
This year, business owners still have some concerns unrelated to COVID-19.
“Inflation and supply chain concerns are affecting the confidence of small business owners leading up to the holiday season,” said Jeff Brown, head of commercial solutions at Equifax Canada, in a statement.
“Businesses need suppliers to ensure product availability, first and foremost, while they try to keep prices reasonable in the wake of rising costs. The biggest thing consumers can do to help small business owners is continue to purchase products from them.”
Another interesting revelation from the survey is that younger Canadians (18-34) incur the most credit card debt over the holiday season, and 30% of younger adults say they regret their holiday purchases once they see their credit card bills.
Canadians who make over $60,000 are more likely to use credit cards for holiday purchases. Equifax recently revealed that Canadians were facing historic credit card debt.
Are you one of the many Canadians planning on limiting holiday spending this year? Let us know in the comments.
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