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Quiznos to Significantly Grow Presence in Canada with New Locations [Interview]

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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The Quiznos Qube (Image: Rego Restaurant Group)

Quick-service sandwich chain Quiznos continues to expand its presence in the country with plans to significantly grow in the marketplace.

The brand, which is based in Denver, has about 450 restaurants worldwide and just over 100 in Canada. The first store opened in Canada in May 1997 in Vancouver. The brand launched in 1981 in Denver, Colorado, where it has its home office.

Tim Casey

Tim Casey, President and CEO of REGO Restaurant Group, which owns Quiznos, said the pandemic slowed down growth for the company as it did for most brands in the industry. 

“What we are most excited about is our new restaurant which incorporates both a contemporized design, new menu, really a new look for Quiznos. We opened up in Vancouver (on SE Marine Dr). We’re very excited about that location. That location and that franchisee is really setting a very solid foundation in the Canadian market for what we believe future growth will be.

Image: Quiznos

“We’ve got several franchisees that have signed development agreements in Canada and we have several more pending. It’s a market that franchisees are very interested in. This new restaurant in Vancouver is doing extraordinarily well and it’s certainly created a tremendous amount of interest and enthusiasm with franchisees. That restaurant opened up mid summer of this year and it just continues to grow stronger and stronger each month.

“I think what consumers are most excited about is they’re really excited to see the new look of the brand, the team did an incredible job of some rigorous consumer research. They brought that to life in a very relevant and contemporized brand and what comes with that is not only the fan favourite menu items but entirely new menu items to drive the brand well into the future.”

Casey said since 1981 Quiznos has been and continues to be a fan favourite with tremendous consumer affinity across North America which continues to grow.

The Quiznos Qube (Image: Rego Restaurant Group)

“In several markets in Canada, they’ve just been waiting for us to come back to their marketplace,” he said.

“I think we have tremendous upside opportunity there. The enthusiasm that we see, the number of franchise agreements that we’ve signed, as I look back over our past it was a very large marketplace for Quiznos and I think our opportunities are very, very significant. We have both urban and rural appeal. The awareness in Canada is just as strong as it is in the US. So from that perspective we are well known, we are well thought of, the consumer affinity is very, very high. So based on what we are seeing and based on our history we think Canada can be a very large market.

“In our locations, we are looking for what most brands look for. We’re looking for good traffic patterns, we’re looking for good visibility, we’re looking for good ingress and egress so consumers have easy access to the brand. We’re looking to be in those areas that consumers have already identified as lunch and dinner hubs.”

The Quiznos Qube (Image: Rego Restaurant Group)

Casey said the company continues to look for and attract individuals as franchisees who are strong entrepreneurs with solid business acumen.

“I think when you combine great real estate and great site selection with the franchisees that we are attracting it means nothing but great things for the brand going forward,” he said.

“Quiznos has always been known for innovation. When this brand started, we were the most innovative in this space. We were the first ones to offer a toasted sub sandwich . . . I think consumers have noticed that DNA, that gene, of innovation is back in a big way . . .  We have gotten back to the roots of our history and our legacy and innovation is at the core of everything we do.

“We’re not just innovating in our menu but also in our restaurant design.

“I believe we are one of, if not the only brand, that offers franchisees flexibility as to how they build out their restaurants. We offer the traditional bricks and mortar which you might find in a shopping centre. But we also have a proprietary exclusive relationship with a company called BCubed Manufacturing and they’re helping us offer to our franchisees a very innovative approach to providing them with a freestanding drive-thru restaurant in their marketplace. BCubed is expanding their manufacturing capabilities to include Canada by mid to third quarter of 2023. We’re excited about that. We’re excited about it because once again it’s got the spirit of innovation that we’re all about and number two we’re all about the franchisee and being able to provide them with two options that they can choose from to maximize the return on investment. We think that’s what all franchisors should be doing. And we’re very proud of the fact that we’re one of the first to offer such flexibility to optimize the ROI of our franchisees.”

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For December 21st, 2022

By
Retail Insider
-
Canadian Retail News From Around The Web

News at a Glance

Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.

Upscale Body Art-Focused ‘Steel N Ink’ Expanding Locations in Major Shopping Centres [Interview]

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Image: Steel N Ink

The idea for Jamie Randolph’s Steel N Ink business began years ago when he took a summer job with a family friend in Sauble Beach, near Owen Sound, Ontario.

Today, the upscale tattoo, body piercing studio, which has top quality body art and body jewelry, is opening its 11th location next month in the Scarborough Town Centre as it continues to expand its retail footprint in different malls.

“When I was 17 years old I went to Sauble Beach to work as a summer job. It’s a seasonal beach town. I went to work for a family friend. He owned a body piercing and T-shirt store and I worked there and then I bought it in 2005 and made it a tattoo studio as well,” said Randolph, CEO and Founder.

Image: Steel N Ink

The first location opened in Sauble Beach in 2005. Randolph said other locations are scattered throughout southern Ontario and beyond.

“The last maybe five locations we’ve found our niche in malls. We started in 2017, we opened in Stone Road Mall in Guelph. It was very successful for us and we continued with the (CF) Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton. Then we did (CF) Shops at Don Mills in Toronto. Then Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket. Then we went to (CF) Polo Park in Winnipeg. So we opened our first out of Ontario store,” said Randoph. 

“We’re opening in Conestoga Mall (Waterloo) this month and then Scarborough Town Centre after that and we have a few more planned for 2023.”

Image: Steel N Ink

It’s not the typical store that one would see in a mall environment.

“As far as I know, when we opened in Guelph we were the first in that class of a mall,” he said. 

“I started in Sauble Beach and everyone always said to me who would get a tattoo on vacation. You know it’s just people. When you have a large crowd of people you have traffic. It’s very inviting. People come in and everyone’s thinking of doing a tattoo but a lot of people don’t go out of their way to get it done and other studios kind of make it hard to book in and they’re in certain parts of towns.

“We are to the masses. We’re in a great spot in Sauble Beach. Now people who wouldn’t typically walk into a tattoo shop come see us. Seeing that, we went to Collingwood which is also a tourist place and then at Barrie across the street from the mall because they wouldn’t allow me in the mall at the time. Then we went to the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls and that was tremendous for us.

“Then I said we’ve got to go into malls and everything got started from there.”

Image: Steel N Ink

Randolph said besides tattoos and body piercing the locations have a large selection of fine body jewelry.

“I’m talking 18 karat gold, diamonds. Really high end body jewelry. Stuff you don’t see everywhere,” he said. 

“We cater to the clients. A lot of tattoo studios they cater more to themselves. They’re artists and they want to make their shops about them. We really cater to the clients. We want people that wouldn’t typically walk into a tattoo shop come into ours, feel free to ask questions, feel comfortable in there. 

“We make friendliness a priority. Our facilities are purpose-built. We run it like a medical clinic in a way.”

Image: Steel N Ink
Image: Steel N Ink

Currently Randolph owns all the stores corporately.

“We’ve just come out with a franchise model. So we’re looking to use that to expand nationally in 2023,” he said. “Hopefully continue expanding, expanding.

“Our model works great. Every market we go into we seem to be very well received and we just think this could spread. Every decent mall should have a Steel N Ink.”

When Randolph bought the business, it had a different name. And he was trying to come up with a new name. Back in the day, he said, all body jewelry was surgical steel. Now there’s different material as well. But needles are still made from steel.

The name just seemed natural to illustrate what the company does and offers.

Podcast [Interview] Suzanne Sears Discusses Retail Staffing into 2023

By
Retail Insider
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Podcast [Interview] Suzanne Sears Discusses Retail Staffing into 2023

Craig sits down with Suzanne Sears, founder and President of Best Retail Careers International and Luxury Careers Canada, to discuss staffing at a challenging time for retailers in this country.

The Interview Series podcast by Retail Insider Canada is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Also check out our The Weekly podcast where Craig and Lee discuss popular content published on Retail Insider which is part of the The Retail Insider Podcast Network.

Subscribe, Rate, and Review our Retail Insider Podcast!

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Drop us a line at Craig@Retail-Insider.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

Background Music Credit: Hard Boiled Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Walmart Canada Names New President and CEO

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Walmart Canada at Hillside Shopping Centre in Victoria, BC (Image: Walmart Canada)

Walmart Canada has named Gonzalo Gebara as its new President and CEO, effective January 30, 2023, pending work authorization.

Judith McKenna

“Gonzalo is an experienced retail leader with extensive knowledge across the industry and our business. Under his leadership, he led the transformation of the business in Chile, strengthening our omnichannel capabilities and developing an ecosystem of services for our Chilian customers,” said Judith McKenna, President and CEO, Walmart International, in a statement. 

“Gonzalo is ideally suited to lead Walmart Canada as it continues its journey to help even more Canadian families save money and live better.”

Gebara joined Walmart in 2000. During his career, he has held roles across Finance, Strategy, eCommerce, Marketing and Operations, in positions of increasing responsibility. Additionally, he has worked with teams across multiple markets, including the United States, Argentina and Chile, driving critical business outcomes, said the retailer.

Gonzalo Gebara

In his most recent position as CEO for Walmart Chile, he has played an integral role in accelerating the company’s transformation, making life easier for customers and giving them access to buy what they need, where, when and how they want to shop, added Walmart.

“I’m very excited to be joining the Walmart Canada team,” said Gebara in a statement. “Walmart Canada has over 100,000 dedicated and talented associates and a strong foundation to build on. I look forward to working with our associates to continue to strengthen, innovate and grow our business in Canada.”

JP Suarez, Executive Vice President, Chief Administration Officer and Regional CEO for Walmart International, led Walmart Canada on an interim basis for the past six months and will continue to oversee the market.

Former Walmart Canada President and CEO Horacio Barbeito

He took over after the departure of Horacio Barbeito, who was appointed Walmart Canada’s President and CEO in 2019.

Barbeito had a 26-year career with Walmart. He is now President and CEO of Old Navy.

When he left Walmart, the retailer, in a statement, said he led the company “through the pandemic while driving an agenda of wellness, innovation and regeneration. Through his leadership, over the last three years we’ve invested in stores, associates, our supply chain and eCommerce.”

“I’ve been privileged to work in five different countries during 26 years with Walmart and I’ve had the honor to serve as CEO in three markets for over 10 years. My time at Walmart has given me a unique opportunity to meet, serve and work with an amazing and diverse group of customers and associates – and to build lasting memories and friendships. I couldn’t have done all this without the unconditional support of my family, my wife and our four children. We will always be a Walmart family,” said Barbeito in a statement at the time.

Walmart has more than 400 stores in Canada with 1.5 million customers each day. It employs more than 100,000 people in the country.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web For December 20th, 2022

By
Retail Insider
-
Canadian Retail News From Around The Web

News at a Glance

Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.

Canadian Bag Retailer Bentley Looks to Expand Business Significantly with Store Concepts [Interview]

By
Shelby Hautala
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Image: Bentley

After surviving the pandemic, Bentley, a Montreal based luggage and handbag retailer, is looking to expand its pop up locations, grow its omni-channel, and add vending machines throughout Canada and globally. 

“We are building our foundation so we can do as many things as we think is logical to see where the growth potentials are. We have done studies already to understand what we are offering to the world of travel. We are still coming out of Covid and we didn’t come out rich, we just came out surviving and we are doing well,” says Walter Lamothe, the President and CEO of Bentley. 

Pop Up Concept Experiments 

Image: Bentley

Lamothe said Bentley experimented with pop up shops for its Riona line, a vegan handbag line, to see if it could live outside of Bentley stores. Although sales were a bit low, Lamothe said the pop ups saw incredible engagement from the consumer, had a lot of influencers show up “so it was successful from a marketing point of view, but not from the retail sales point of view. Right now we do have a pop up of Riona in Markham and we have one in Newfoundland, and that is our last two we are doing for the year.” 

The more serious pop up locations are Bentley’s tracker stores which have everything to do with transportation. 

“We have the airport pop up in Montreal and we have been there for a couple of years and we are going to build our first in line store in one of the malls here in Quebec for March. We are building it modular so it will be a very flexible pop up that can explore a new market. It can be fitted so it can stand alone in a hallway, it can be a shop and shop, it can be in any kind of environment. The pop up will be for anything to do with transportation, like airports and train stations so it is what we are working on. When you look at the Montreal airport, it allows us to be a lot more flexible on where we can try these new concepts, so there are still places in Canada to try but the real goal here is to go international.” 

Customers can expect the Bentley pop ups to have everything to do with travel as Lamothe said there are handbags for every moment in your life, relevant travel products such as straps that can go over your luggage, and Lamothe said they want to make sure all the products are built for travel. Customers can find anything from luggage, secure bags, backpacks, cosmetic bags, accessories – everything a customer would need for traveling. 

Walter Lamothe

“For the pop up locations, we see the airport and we see that becoming more permanent than a normal pop up but as we expand in Canada, we will see probably half a dozen that we would experiment with in different types of mall formats such as the Toronto Union Station, which is a possibility down the road.” 

In terms of other expansion plans, Bentley is going to renovate existing stores.

“We have a plan to do a couple of renovations. We have taken our old school concepts and changing out the tables, racking, shelving, and altering our window concepts so we can give a better presentation to the consumer and we are spending more of our money there in the short term and also creating an experience that is self-serve.” 

Self Service Shopping 

  • Image: Bentley
  • Image: Bentley

As technology evolves, so does the consumer’s shopping experience. Bently is growing its ONMI channel to allow consumers to interact with the products with a QR code to find out more information about the product, why it is good quality, how it compares to other products, and customers can also pay for the product on their phone. 

“Everyone walks in with a phone and within that, they can scan the QR code and get information about the product. It doesn’t sound out there, but when you look at the type of products we are selling, it is very technical and it is hard just by looking at something to know if you will be getting good quality. So we will be able to explain to our consumers just by them clicking to see the quality, why it is better than other products, and what the testing procedures are if they want to see that. So it is just making the ONMI channel come alive to the next level.” 

If a customer wants to buy the product in a colour the store doesn’t have, they can also order it right from their phones or through the cashier. Customers will be able to have more information on their hands than ever before as they will be able to look at the source of the product, what product is better for their travel needs, and the quality. Lamothe said these will be the options that will be available come 2023.  

Travel Accessories in Vending Machines 

Tracker (Image: Bentley)

Bentley is looking at introducing vending machines that will have accessories. The concept has already been tested as it is already available in Dorval, Quebec. Lamothe said they took a chip machine and transformed it into a tracker box where they have been selling accessories and has been successful. 

“The vending machine is anything that you need that you forgot while traveling. What we sell in a lot of these travel areas are things like luggage tags, scales in the airport, inflatable pillows that are in small packs. We have all kinds of things that are last minute carry-on items that were needed but left at home.”

Lamothe said it is looking into expanding the vending machine products to include more items such as compacted day packs. And if all goes well, Lamothe is hopeful he will expand this concept and will have a few machines by the summer of next year, and the goal would be to have them throughout the world. 

“We are happy to serve our customers and we have never stopped developing products. I have spent my career looking at what it is the customer wants and how we can exceed expectations. By doing that, we have an offering that is constant and I think that anybody who has not thought about Bentley before should check us out. I think we have the best offerings and that is our goal – to be in the number one position of all things that we sell to our consumers.” 

Related Retail Insider Articles

Arc’teryx Plans Major Expansion with 15 Stores Planned for 2023 [Interview]

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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Arc'teryx at CF Market Mall (Image: Arc'teryx)

Retailer Arc’teryx, specializing in outerwear and outdoor equipment, has major expansion plans in the works for the coming year.

Delaney Schweitzer, Chief Commercial Officer for the company, told Retail Insider that 2023 is a major year for retail, with 15 new store openings planned across North America, including Denver, Edmonton, Chicago, and Ottawa. 

Delaney Schweitzer, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Arc’teryx Equipment

Arc’teryx opened 10 brand stores in North America in 2022, she added.

“The pandemic saw a huge upturn in outdoor recreation, as people sought solitude and adventure in the mountains. We’re committed to enabling equitable access to the outdoors, and we’re excited to see this change, as the mountain community becomes more diverse and reflects the world we live in,” said Schweitzer.

“As more people spent more time outdoors, they also looked for increasingly technical and durable outdoor gear and apparel, which would enable them to reach their goals. Our design process and purpose has remained the same throughout. We have always designed durable, high-performance gear to last through any challenge the mountains could throw at you, and this has remained true throughout the pandemic.”

Arc’teryx at Metrotown (Image: Arc’teryx)

Arc’teryx has over 160 brand stores and is stocked in over 2,400 retail locations globally.  

“We have an existing store in West Edmonton Mall, and we’re excited to be opening a new store in the Southgate Centre in spring 2023. It’s a 3,353 square foot space, within a popular retail community. Southgate is where our local guests shop, and it’s always our aim to meet our guests where they are,” said Schweitzer.  

“We’ve had a great community response to our first Edmonton store, and we’re excited to expand our footprint in the city, offering systems of dress to allow Edmontonians to stay warm and dry while they explore the mountains on their doorstep.”

Arc’teryx was founded in Vancouver in 1989. Originally known as Rock Solid, the small team of hardcore climbers focused on creating innovative new harnesses. In 1991, Rock Solid became Arc’teryx – named after Archaeopteryx Lithographica, the first dinosaur known to fly.  

Arc’teryx at Carrefour Laval (Image: Arc’teryx)

After finding cult success with harnesses, Arc’teryx expanded into packs, and then jackets. Initially sold exclusively via wholesale partners, in 2006 Arc’teryx opened its first direct-to-consumer brand store in Montreal, Quebec. Over three decades, Arc’teryx has developed a reputation for high-performance, highly durable products designed for the mountain athlete – enabling them to perform at the highest level, in the most extreme conditions, explained Schweitzer.

“Arc’teryx is a Canadian brand producing durable and high-performance, technical outerwear to serve the mountain athlete. We believe that good design makes lives better, and we exist to create long-lasting, high-quality products to keep people safe, dry and achieving their biggest goals in the most extreme mountain conditions,” she said.  

“Our products are incredibly durable and long-lasting. Our aim is to keep gear in play for as long as possible, through building a circular business model. Our circularity platform – called ReBIRD™ – is built around educating guests on correct gear care and repair (ReCARE), building a marketplace for secondhand goods (ReGEAR) and finding innovative design solutions to utilize end-of-life materials (ReCUT). This focus on circularity is a key lever to reduce our climate footprint, and protect the mountains we call home – and it’s key to our brand journey for the future.”

Visual Merchandising: Luxury or Essential?

By
Retail Insider
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By Ani Nersessian

Maximizing profitability is on everyone’s minds, with increasing costs everywhere. While reducing expenses is the obvious step, this is when it is important to think critically about Return on Investments: When reducing the investments, is it at the cost of key returns?  

Visual Merchandising is a retail operations and marketing engine, yet it is often perceived as a luxury to those who may not be utilizing it to its true potential. 

Many people associate Visual Merchandising to purely window displays, causing the common misconception is that Visual Merchandising is all about artistic creativity and aesthetics. They are certainly integrated into Visual Merchandising work, particularly with creative displays both in windows and in-stores, as well as the retail design. After all, the display arts and general aesthetics are a part of increasing visibility and attracting customers into the space. But there is so much more to Visual Merchandising than display work, and this is where retailers cannot afford to sacrifice.

Let’s first dissect what Visual Merchandising is, and why it is important in retail: VM describes the presentation of merchandise to highlight its function and reason to buy to a consumer considering a purchase. It creates an engaging, enjoyable atmosphere which invites consumers to spend more time in the store and increases the turnover potential. The point of Visual Merchandising is to sell, increase sales, present the business as a showroom, bring categories to life, create an enjoyable shopping experience, connect with the target consumer, and bring consistency in the in-store consumer journey.

Let’s now break down the five key elements of Visual Merchandising work:

  • Displaying and grouping merchandise strategically to entice customers to explore, purchase items, purchase more items, and keep the state fresh and relevant.
  • Consciously placing furniture/fixtures and product groupings in a way that manipulates the customer’s path.
  • Taking advantage of easy-selling items in terms of business success, while helping slower-selling items.
  • Rotating in new arrivals and strategizing goods to sustain the inventory flow.
  • Organizing a store effectively to support customers to shop easily.

As a result, VM impacts the operations of a store, the potential to sell (more), the brand image, and the customer experience.

Just like anything else, Visual Merchandising has the potential of being unnecessarily costly, without careful consideration and planning, which is when it can seem like a luxury. A few ways to keep costs down are:

  • Designing displays that require minimal purchases, particularly avoiding too many disposable elements when sourcing props, and trying to re-purpose or upcycle props as a sustainable solution.
  • Planning larger Visual Merchandising updates for a seasonal or monthly basis, while daily or weekly updates may be smaller, easy-to-execute tweaks.
  • Investing in proper staff training and standards guideline creations, so that the amount of labour spend on execution, maintenance and refreshes are minimal yet effective. 
  • Simplifying execution plans to maximize cost-efficiency. 
  • Prioritizing where to put most efforts and investment based the most visible sections of the store.
  • Analyzing the impact of each VM change to identify successful strategies. Then, documenting these successful set-ups to repeat them for future set-ups in an efficient manner. Consider turning them into VM presentation guidelines for further impact.

It is easy to get carried away and spend excessively on VM in terms of sourcing displays items and labour for execution. However, mindful, strategic planning can reduce unnecessary spending, while ensuring that VM is still in place to maximize space vs. sales productivity; Visual Merchandising remains an essential part of retail businesses for branding, sales and operational purposes.

Ani Nersessian

After 15+ years of industry experience with various retailers and environments such as Holt Renfrew and Adidas Group Canada, VM ID Inc. was founded by Ani Nersessian to help retailers get set-up with a VM culture that is right for them.

VM ID Inc. is a Visual Merchandising service company which provides catered support for small businesses through consulting, designing and labour services. Email: ani@vm-id.com

Gifting with purpose: Amex Survey Reveals Canadians Plan to Shop more Thoughtfully this Holiday Season

By
Mario Toneguzzi
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After the past two years, Canadians are eager to gather with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. However, they’re planning to do it a little differently this year.

With soaring inflation and uncertainty in the markets, more Canadians are putting extra thought into where they will spend their money during the holidays. 

That means retailers need to be prepared to offer shoppers more deals and promotions to attract those who may base their purchases off the potential to earn rewards or points more so than in past years, says Kerri-Ann Santaguida, Vice President and General Manager of Merchant Services Canada at American Express.

Kerri-Ann Santaguida, Vice President and General Manager of Merchant Services Canada at American Express.

These trying economic times are forcing Canadians to be savvier about how they pay for holiday gifts and other expenses this year. It’s all about shopping smarter this holiday season and making their dollars stretch further.

“Today’s consumers are demanding more from the brands they frequent. They want value and they want to feel good about how they are spending their money. Injecting value has never been more important to attract, support, and retain customers because we know they’re more likely to shop at stores where they have already established brand loyalty,” she says.

“For example, our data clearly shows that Amex merchants with a higher number of special offers are recovering faster each quarter than those who are not providing any promotions. And it’s not just about existing spenders returning to the market. These special offers are bringing in new customers too.”

“We know consumers need incentives to shop somewhere new. As we head into the New Year, retailers looking to accelerate their growth need to meet these consumer expectations.”

On top of looking for good deals and incentives, Canadian consumers are planning to shop for the holidays more thoughtfully this year, according to the Amex Trendex, a trend report from American Express. As they look forward to spending time with loved ones, Canadians are also spending their dollars on gifts and experiences that will have the most impact this holiday season.

The Amex Trendex found that close to three-fourths (74 per cent) of Canadians surveyed agree they want to be more selective with gift shopping this holiday season. Clothes and accessories (56 per cent), dining out at restaurants (52 per cent) and decorations (34 per cent) are ranked as the top three categories where they plan to spend their money during the holidays.

Santaguida said Canadian consumers want to purchase gifts with meaning and spend money on community-based experiences that bring people together.

For example, 73 per cent of survey respondents said they’re shopping for thoughtful gifts over luxury gifts this holiday season. Over three-fourths (77 per cent) said they believe it’s more important than ever to support small businesses this holiday season and close to eight-in-10 Canadians (79 per cent) want to earn credit card rewards for online purchases.

“The degree to which Canadians are taking steps to support small businesses this holiday season stood out to me as one of the highlights of the survey results and a key trend this year. There are a lot of factors impacting personal finances right now in Canada, so the fact that 77 per cent of Canadians agree that it’s more important than ever to support small businesses this holiday season is a really positive takeaway for Canada’s small business owners,” said Santaguida.

“Another trend we’re seeing is centered around Canadians’ desire to earn and redeem rewards for their holiday purchases. Two-thirds of Canadians want to use credit card rewards and points to offset prices this year. This means that two out of every three Canadians are planning to redeem their rewards to balance out their expenses this holiday season. It’s all about Canadians being savvier shoppers and making their money work harder for them.”

In many cities and communities across Canada, this year’s holiday season marks the first full return to life as we knew it before the pandemic. The return to in-person shopping is a symbol of pre-pandemic life, so for that reason, Santaguida believes we will see more Canadians visiting their local stores and malls this year.

“There’s been an undeniable uptick in online shopping, which was driven by the pandemic of course, but I think this year, we’re going to see the proportion of Canadians shopping in store versus online start to balance out again. In fact, our research shows there is an equal percentage of Canadians (77 per cent) who plan to shop online and in-store for the holidays,” she said.

Some other key findings from Amex Trendex include:

  • 63 per cent of Canadians surveyed typically spend between one to four hours researching potential gifts before deciding to purchase them;
  • 60 per cent plan on donating to charity to give to those less fortunate this holiday season;
  • 68 per cent agree that they love dining out at their favourite local restaurants during the holidays to support small businesses;
  • 66 per cent plan on purchasing gifts from locally owned businesses this holiday season;
  • 59 per cent agree that they tip more generously around the holiday season;
  • Of those Canadians who agree they tip more generously around the holidays, 65 per cent say they tip around 10 per cent more or higher compared to their typical behaviour.

*Retail Insider worked with American Express for this content.

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