Dec 17, 2021
Supply chain worries had one-in-four Canadians doing their holiday shopping early this year
The retail sector may see softer December sales due to early Christmas shopping: Retail analyst
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Global supply chain woes are top of mind for many Canadians this year as the holidays quickly approach.
According to the latest survey done exclusively for BNN Bloomberg and RATESDOTCA, more than one quarter of Canadians (27 per cent) say that they bought their holiday gifts early this year in anticipation that supply chain issues would hinder the availability of gifts they wanted to purchase.
Many industries have been impacted by shortages recently that have affected the availability and pricing of everything from vehicles to video cards for computers. The findings of the survey, which was conducted by Leger and polled 1,525 Canadians from Nov. 26-28, underscore the extent to which pandemic-induced supply problems have affected consumer sentiment.
Broken supply chains have been a consistent challenge this year for companies and have contributed to higher costs for consumers. The problems began during the shutdowns that were instituted by governments last year as COVID-19 spread across the globe. That led to business closures and delayed orders.
The shutdowns correlated with a surge of demand as locked-down consumers rushed to buy everything from exercise bikes to office equipment. The result has been been rising prices, which contributed to the multi-decade highs for inflation.
While 55 per cent of consumers surveyed said they did not purchase presents early this year, only 17 per cent said they did not factor in supply chain issues when purchasing gifts.
Most respondents said they were not expecting to spend more on gifts this holiday season. A total of 51 per cent said they expected to spend roughly the same as they did last year, while 22 per cent said they expected to spend less. Eight per cent of respondents said they expect to spend more this year.
Most Canadians — 48 per cent — said they would use a credit card to make their holiday purchases this year, while 44 per cent said they would use cash.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services were only used by one per cent of respondents to purchase their holiday presents. BNPL allows you to split the cost of purchasing an item into multiple payments. However, financial experts have warned consumers that despite the popularity of such payment services, they should be used with caution, given that they can encourage overspending.
The rest of the purchases being made this holiday season are evenly divided among lines of credit, payday loans and personal loans, with each method being selected by one per cent of respondents.
According to the latest survey done exclusively for BNN Bloomberg and RATESDOTCA, more than one quarter of Canadians (27 per cent) say that they bought their holiday gifts early this year in anticipation that supply chain issues would hinder the availability of gifts they wanted to purchase.
Many industries have been impacted by shortages recently that have affected the availability and pricing of everything from vehicles to video cards for computers. The findings of the survey, which was conducted by Leger and polled 1,525 Canadians from Nov. 26-28, underscore the extent to which pandemic-induced supply problems have affected consumer sentiment.
Broken supply chains have been a consistent challenge this year for companies and have contributed to higher costs for consumers. The problems began during the shutdowns that were instituted by governments last year as COVID-19 spread across the globe. That led to business closures and delayed orders.
The shutdowns correlated with a surge of demand as locked-down consumers rushed to buy everything from exercise bikes to office equipment. The result has been been rising prices, which contributed to the multi-decade highs for inflation.
While 55 per cent of consumers surveyed said they did not purchase presents early this year, only 17 per cent said they did not factor in supply chain issues when purchasing gifts.
Most respondents said they were not expecting to spend more on gifts this holiday season. A total of 51 per cent said they expected to spend roughly the same as they did last year, while 22 per cent said they expected to spend less. Eight per cent of respondents said they expect to spend more this year.
Most Canadians — 48 per cent — said they would use a credit card to make their holiday purchases this year, while 44 per cent said they would use cash.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services were only used by one per cent of respondents to purchase their holiday presents. BNPL allows you to split the cost of purchasing an item into multiple payments. However, financial experts have warned consumers that despite the popularity of such payment services, they should be used with caution, given that they can encourage overspending.
The rest of the purchases being made this holiday season are evenly divided among lines of credit, payday loans and personal loans, with each method being selected by one per cent of respondents.
