Most Canadians spending less on non-essentials during pandemic: study

It seems that Canadians have tightened up their spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the economy in the dumps, people being laid off left and right, and no foreseeable end to the ongoing threat of coronavirus, we can’t say that we blame them.

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A recent study from the Angus Reid Institute found that two-thirds of Canadian respondents have been spending less on non-essential items — such as gifts and restaurant meals — than usual.

Angus Reid Institute

The online survey was conducted between July 10 and 11 to a group of 1,503 respondents, and was an echo of a similar survey that had been conducted between April 1 to 3 asking the same questions.

Three in every 10 Canadian respondents said that they have lost work as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and those who have lost work are three times more likely to be experiencing financial difficulty compared to those who have kept their jobs, the study states.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as the majority of respondents stated that their personal financial situation is in either “great” or “good” shape — up to 80% compared to April’s 73%.

Angus Reid Institute

Seventeen percent of respondents stated that they are “in bad shape, just keeping their head above water,” while 3% were “in terrible shape, can’t manage already.”

Those numbers are down from 22% and 5% in April, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, of the group that stated they were in good or great financial shape, those earning salaries of $100,000 or more a year were more likely to be financially stable than their lower-earning counterparts.

Angus Reid Institute

Of the respondents that applied for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, three in 10 fell into the “in terrible shape” category.

Only 5% of the study’s total respondents thought that the next 12 months would be a “very good time for a major purchase,” 23% thought it’d be a “good time,” 32% saw it as a “bad time,” and 24% felt like it’d be a “very bad time for a major purchase.”

Angus Reid Institute