It's too close to Christmas to know exactly how much Canadians spent on holiday cheer. But unseasonably warm weather in much of Canada suggests a sluggish shopping start that may have been followed by a slight increase in spending over this time last year when oil prices were first crashing and the economy was drifting recession-ward.
In November 2014, retail sales rose by less than 0.5% over the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. Last December, they were down 2%, which was the steepest decline since 2010.
This year "we were predicting... a solid, mostly merry Christmas," says Michael LeBlanc, the Retail Council of Canada's senior vice-president of marketing and digital retail.
The council is estimating increases of between four and five per cent in retail sales this holiday season.
And Canadian spenders likely helped stores reach that target towards the end of the holiday shopping rush, LeBlanc says.
LeBlanc pegs the sluggish beginning on unseasonably warm weather in parts of Canada, particularly Ontario and Quebec, which put stores in a tough spot as snow and other signs of winter tend to trigger Canadians into holiday shopping action.
The unseasonably warm weather also likely means certain items — like winter sports equipment and apparel — didn't sell as well as in years gone by.
Experts say winter wear is typically a big Canadian Christmas purchase for personal use and gift giving
But, those purchases are often prompted by bad weather reminding Canadians how necessary a new pair of boots or down parka might be.
Even though the weather is expected to get somewhat colder in the coming months, LeBlanc says some of those seasonal items, like shovels, won't be flying off the shelves. People are likely to decide to make do with what they have for the remainder of winter by that point, he says.
