Canadian consumers are feeling confident heading into the holiday season and say that they plan to spend as much money or more this Christmas as they did last year.
An annual report by accounting firm PwC found that Canadians plan to spend an average of $1,563 this year, up 3.7% from $1,507 in 2017. This increase comes amidst an environment of trade uncertainty, market volatility, rising debt and climbing interest rates.
However, not all of the money spent this coming Christmas will go to gifts under a tree. The largest portion of the Canadian holiday spending will go towards travel. According to PwC, Canadians will spend $720 on travel this coming December, $625 on gifts and $200 on entertainment.
The survey results come from a national poll of more than 1,000 Canadian consumers across generational groups. This year’s results indicate that Canadian consumers are feeling more confident than in recent years.
And despite the growing popularity of online shopping, 63% of Canadians say that they plan to do their holiday shopping in stores or at shopping malls. About one third of Canadians say they plan to do some cross-border shopping this December. Among people who head to the U.S. to shop, nearly half (48%) say they plan to buy electronics.
