Majority of Canadians plan to spend less on holiday gifs this year: poll

With Black Friday around the corner, a new poll finds many Canadians are rethinking their holiday gift buying this year as they cope with a higher cost of living and growing debt.

According to the poll by Equifax Canada, 60 per cent of respondents, or six in 10, say they will be spending less on gifts this year because of financial pressures due to inflation.

Another 41 per cent say they will limit their spending because they are already carrying too much debt.

With that in mind, 57 per cent of respondents of those surveyed say they plan to come up with a budget for their holiday shopping.

“Inflation is adding pressure to the financial situations of Canadians. Preparing and sticking to a budget may help make those credit card bills a little easier to face in January,” says Julie Kuzmic, a senior compliance officer with Equifax Canada.

While many plan to take advantage of Black Friday (Nov. 25) and Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) sales, 61 per cent of those surveyed say they plan to do more shopping in-store this year to support their local businesses, which is an increase of 10 per cent from last year.

Equifax Canada also surveyed more than 300 small business owners, with only 25 per cent saying they are feeling more confident about the holiday season this year compared to one last year.

“Inflation and supply chain concerns are affecting the confidence of small business owners leading up to the holiday season,” said Jeff Brown, head of commercial solutions with Equifax Canada. “The biggest thing consumers can do to help small business owners is continue to purchase products from them.”

The results from Equifax’s holiday spending poll are in line with the findings from Deloitte Canada’s 2022 Holiday Retail Outlook released last month. It says overall holiday spending is expected to fall 17 per cent to $1,520 per household.