Christmas spending up 7% over last year
Posted December 20, 2011 9:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Christmas survey finds many of us are channelling Santa Claus.
The poll by Scotiabank founds, on average, most Canadians plan to spend 7 per cent more this year on Christmas gifts. Sixty per cent said the economy had not impacted their holiday spending at all.
The survey said we’ll spend about $53 more for an average of just over $1,000.
Suzie, a shopper at the Eaton Centre, is trying to keep a lock on her wallet but it’s not working.
“It’s hard when I go to the mall, there’s so much stuff you can buy and lately there are so many deals,” Suzie said.
But another shopper, George, set the ground rules early.
“I had said to friends and family that we’d do very minimal gift-exchanging and that’s what we did,” he explained.
The poll also found 45 per cent saved up money ahead of time and that men were more likely than women to say they had saved up for gifts and other holiday expenses.
Quebecers were more likely than the rest of Canadians to have saved enough money to cover all of their holiday expenses.
When it comes to what Canadians hope to find under the tree on Christmas Day, the poll found gift cards or certificates, money and electronics topped the list.
