Retail Therapy on Most Holiday Shopping Lists: Credit Card Spending is Trending Up
22 Novembre 2021 - 11:00AM
Consumers and small business owners are feeling more positive about
holiday shopping leading into Black Friday according to new survey
data* from Equifax Canada. Equifax consumer data also suggests
their optimism is on target with average credit card spend trending
up, increasing by 17.6 per cent in Q3 2021 compared to Q3 2020.
Average monthly spend on credit cards is over $1,400 this quarter,
the highest in the last three years.
“Credit cards have been the slowest product to
recover from the pandemic and show a similar trend across other
countries as well,” said Rebecca Oakes, Equifax Canada’s AVP of
Advanced Analytics. “Seasonality, pent up demand, and people
beginning to travel again combined with a rise in inflation can be
attributed to higher spend behaviour. We’re also likely to see a
small quarter-over-quarter seasonal increase in credit card balance
and utilization.”
Looking forward to holiday shopping, two-thirds of
survey respondents (64 per cent) plan to spend about the same as
last year and 9 per cent expect to spend more. These numbers are up
substantially compared to 2020 when 58 per cent said they would
spend the same and 4 per cent said they would spend more. Only 25
per cent say they will spend less this year, which is significantly
lower than 33 per cent in 2020.
Canadians aged 18-34 are much more likely than
those aged 35+ to say they will be shopping more this holiday
season (17 per cent versus 6 per cent), as are those with children
under the age of 18 in the house compared to those aged 35+ with no
young children (15 per cent versus 7 per cent).
“Retailers of all sizes can take heart that most
consumers plan to purchase plenty of holiday gifts for friends and
family,” said Oakes. “It’s another indication that we’re turning
the corner on the financial impacts of the pandemic. It’s
imperative, however, to remind people to stay within their
financial limits and prepare a realistic budget to avoid unwanted
financial stress in the New Year.”
Fortunately, the survey found 57 per cent of
Canadians prepare a budget for holiday shopping. Additionally, the
survey uncovered that significantly more, 70 per cent, are using
their credit cards more often than cash for purchases compared to
2020. One-third (31 per cent) also indicated they use more than one
credit card for holiday purchases and 26 per cent carry the most
credit card debt in a month during the holidays.
WHEN & WHERE PEOPLE PLAN TO
SHOP Shopping Black Friday sales is in the plans for 49
per cent of survey respondents, 44 per cent will shop Cyber Monday
sales, and 34 per cent plan to shop for Small Business Saturday
sales. While more than half (56 per cent) of holiday shoppers say
they are more likely to shop online this year because of the
pandemic, half (51 per cent) say they plan on shopping in-store
more this holiday season to support local businesses. The online
shopping number dropped by 9 per cent compared to last year.
SMALL BUSINESS PLANS FOR HOLIDAY
SHOPPERS Equifax Canada also conducted a survey** of 300+
small business owners, 39 per cent of whom said they were just as
confident in their business thinking back to last year’s holiday
season and 36 per cent said they were more confident for this
season. Only 20 per cent said they were less confident.
“Small business owners in particular have more
reason to be optimistic compared to last year when most of their
businesses were shut down owing to government lockdowns,” said Jeff
Brown, Small and Medium Business Leader, Equifax Canada. “There’s
good reason to believe they will do much better, especially those
in the food and beverage or hospitality industries.”
Over half of businesses polled (56 per cent) said
that they will be taking extra steps this holiday season to attract
business, including offering sales/discounts (25 per cent),
investing more in social media (21 per cent), or offering free
delivery (16 per cent). Four-in-ten (38 per cent) of the businesses
polled don’t plan to do anything different to attract customers
heading into the holidays. Interestingly, businesses that have been
in operation for 6+ years are significantly more likely to state
that they don’t plan to do anything different to attract more
business (47 per cent versus 18 per cent of those in business fewer
than 6 years). Newer businesses are more likely to state that
customers can support them this holiday season by sharing/posting
about their business on social media (71 per cent versus 28 per
cent of those in business 1+ years).
“Small business owners certainly deserve some good
cheer this holiday season,” added Brown.
*An online survey of 1,500 Canadians was completed
between September 16-24, 2021, using Leger’s online panel. The
margin of error for this study was +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
** Equifax Canada Co. commissioned Leger to
conduct an online survey with 300 Canadian small (255) and
medium-sized (45) business owners/leaders/decision makers within
the Food, Construction, Retail, and Travel Industries. It was
completed between August 20 and 29, 2021, using Leger’s online
panel.
About Equifax At Equifax (NYSE:
EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data,
analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the
global economy by helping financial institutions, companies,
employees, and government agencies make critical decisions with
greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data,
analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions
to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by
more than 12,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has
investments in 25 countries in North America, Central and South
America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information,
visit Equifax.ca and follow the company’s news
on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media Contacts:
Andrew
Findlater SELECT Public Relations afindlater@selectpr.ca (647)
444-1197 |
|
Grafico Azioni Equifax (NYSE:EFX)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024
Grafico Azioni Equifax (NYSE:EFX)
Storico
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024