A significant majority of Canadians, over 80%, say they have made at least one permanent change to their buying behaviour, according to new insights from Kantar’s latest MONITOR report.
“What you’re looking at is a truly historical convergence of factors that have given Canadians a real reason to think deeply about how they want to engage as consumers,” said Casey Ferrell, Senior Vice President and Head of U.S. and Canada MONITOR at Kantar.
The shift in consumer mindset, he explained, is being driven by a combination of global and local pressures.
“Between the geopolitical tensions and drama unfolding with the Trump administration, persistent economic challenges, stagnation, and cost of living issues, and then a shifting global economic landscape where the benefits of globalism are being questioned, I think you sort of take those three big things and have Canadians really rethinking who they want to be as consumers.”
That reflection is showing up in the data, with many consumers reporting that their purchasing habits have changed for good.
“When they’re engaging in the marketplace, they’re really thinking about it in a considered way,” said Ferrell. “I think that’s probably behind the attitude that you’re seeing in that figure: eight in 10 Canadians say that some of their buying behaviours are permanently changed.”
The State of the Canadian Consumer report can be found here.
Still, the question remains: are these changes actually permanent?
“I think we have to take people at their word when they say they intend to make these behaviours permanent,” said Ferrell. “Whether they, in fact, are even happening now, let alone whether they’re permanent, I think is an open question.”
He pointed to early indicators that suggest a gap between aspiration and action.
“I’ve seen a number of clients reporting to us that their sales data is not necessarily telling the same story that consumers are about buying Canadian and the incidence of buying Canadian and the shift away from American brands,” he explained.
“I think these are aspirational attitudes, but the degree to which they can become permanent behaviours that’s a very big leap.”
Ferrell noted that practical realities, such as price, value, and convenience, remain dominant decision-making factors for most shoppers.
“Buying Canadian, for example, may be aspirational and it may well be exactly what the Canadian consumer would like to be able to do, but it may be difficult for them to get to the stores that carry those Canadian products sometimes. Or it may be challenging for their household budget to stretch and pay more for Canadian-made products.”
The Kantar MONITOR report aims to help businesses understand exactly these types of evolving attitudes. Ferrell leads the U.S. and Canadian divisions of MONITOR, Kantar’s proprietary consumer insights product.
Kantar itself is a global leader in marketing data and analytics. “We partner with 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers to help them understand how people around the world think and feel and act,” Ferrell said.
The longer-term implications are still unfolding.
“I think the longer-term, adaptive response is still taking shape,” Ferrell said. “Can you really stop shopping at Walmart? That may not be realistic in the long run.”
Instead, Ferrell suggests Canadians may start shifting their behaviours in more subtle, but sustainable, ways.
“There may be some other, more long-term sustainable types of shifts. They may even be a little bit more subtle, but more sustainable over the long haul.”
According to Ferrell, the market is in transition.
“We’re in the hard part, getting past the period of high emotion, and moving toward a future where attitudes and behaviours align. But align in a way that allows for consumers to live the lives they want to live.”
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