Young Canadians are gearing up to take advantage of big sale moments this holiday season with more than four-in-five (81 per cent) under 35 planning to shop on Black Friday – significantly more than Cyber Monday (57 per cent) or Boxing Day (62 per cent), and the 62 per cent of overall Canadians who will shop that day, according to Rakuten.
Rakuten.ca, the leading shopping destination to save with Cash Back and deals from your favorite brands, predicts that Black Friday is poised to be the biggest shopping day this year.
Here are a few highlights of the Rakuten Annual Holiday Spend Survey:
- More Canadians are planning to shop more on big sales moments than in previous years;
- 31 per cent more plan to shop on Black Friday;
- 27 per cent more on Cyber Monday;
- 29 per cent more on Boxing Day;
- Average anticipated holiday spend is $637, up from $570 in 2023;
- 72 per cent of Canadians are actively watching for upcoming sales/offers;
- 63 per cent of Canadians plan to start holiday shopping earlier to spread out the expense (up from 56 per cent in 2023);
- Canadians are looking to get more from their money with 66 per cent preferring cash back programs over point-based programs;
- Four-in-five (81 per cent) Canadians are stressed about the cost of buying holiday gifts this year.
Jennifer LaForge, General Manager of Rakuten Rewards Canada, said there is a shift this year more towards the traditional Black Friday, Cyber Monday time period that we saw before the pandemic.
“Throughout the pandemic, with a lot of concerns on delivery times and inventory, we saw a lot of sales and retailers launching their holiday shopping as early as the start of October. We do see a lot of strong offers coming through in October. We are seeing that shift back towards the traditional Black Friday, Cyber Monday time frame prior to the pandemic,” she said.
“We saw November, December sales very concentrated throughout the pandemic. A lot of concerns over inventory and delivery times really pushed those sales to the start of October. And while we’ve seen some good sales from a lot of retailers, they typically came in the back half of October. But a lot of our our retail partners are building more strength, more exposure and more sales in the Black Friday type weekend period.”
The biggest news from the past year has been inflation and cost of living. But LaForge said the survey indicated a lift in spend this year.
“Groceries and typical staples, etc, are costing more. And a lot of our consumers are actually anticipating that in their budgets. We are seeing parents spending the most, in particular dads. Dads always want to buy the coolest toys, and we’re seeing the under 35 actually spending a surprising amount as well,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of positives right now . . . We’ve seen a little bit of softening on overall inflation. We’ve got positive outlooks in terms of interest rates coming down. We’ve got some job security. So there’s a lot of positives. But I think right now, the geopolitical landscape and with the election in the US, it is having an impact on Canadian consumers. And I think there’s a hold to see what’s going to happen. And a lot of that hesitation is just Canadians waiting to hear, the fate of how North America may change.
“I think once we pass through the US presidential election, we will see either an increase in anxiety or decrease in anxiety, depending on how that rolls out, but I think it is having a significant impact and delaying some consumer spend as early as we’ve seen in previous years. I’m hoping in November we see a little bit of loosening, and that should loosen right around the time that retailers are really planning to drive their holiday sales.”
LaForge said this year we’ll see a lot more Canadians leveraging these typical gifting and holiday shopping periods to be stocking up on a lot of staples and essentials as well.
“There’s not just the top gift giving categories and verticals that will win, but I think across the board, retailers should be looking at this as an opportunity Canadians are using to get ahead of the New Year and to find some savings on those everyday essentials.”
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