The long border lineups over the Remembrance Day long weekend are just another indication more B.C. residents appear to be heading south of the border this holiday shopping season.
Deloitte’s holiday shopping report found that nearly two-thirds of Metro Vancouver residents said they were likely to head to the U.S. to shop to take advantage of the strong loonie. That’s compared to only 36% of Montreal residents and 39% of Torontonians.
That is among further sobering news for B.C. retailers in the survey that found Canadians aren’t necessarily in a shopping mood this Christmas. Nearly half of Vancouverites said they plan to spend less this holiday season, compared to 44% nationally. About 45% plan to spend the same amount as last year, less than 52% nationally.
The latest report follows other surveys suggesting dampened consumer spending for the remainder of 2010. (See “Holiday spending flat this year: RBC” – BIV Business Today, November 11.)
A desire to save money due to a slightly less optimistic view of the economy is one of the key reasons for muted consumer spending intentions. About 85% of Canadians feel the economy will remain the same or improve, down from 91% a year ago. Consumer confidence, which was at a high of 96 in January, is down to 78 today.
About 56% plan to buy their holiday gifts on sale, and 41% plan to spend less on gifts this year than last.
Despite this somewhat dampened outlook, there was some good news for retailers yesterday. A MasterCard Canada survey suggested Canadians aren’t putting as much thought behind their holiday spending plans and budgets as they should. Only 38% said they create an actual holiday budget, and nearly half admit that they go over their budget well before the actual holiday arrives.
Canadians plan to spend about $1,100 on average this holiday season, although a quarter said they will spend between $1,000 to $5,000 during the holidays.
The survey suggests the biggest spenders will be men over the age of 50, who were twice as likely as women to spend more than $100 per person for a gift. On average, the survey suggested most people plan to spend between $21 and $50 on gifts per person this year.