Early Holiday Shopping Rises In Popularity Amidst Supply Chain Concerns
HALIFAX–A significant portion of Canadians did their holiday shopping early this year as a result of supply chain concerns.
New research from Leger looked at holiday shopping trends and the impact the pandemic and supply chain concerns had on them.
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.
Based on the survey’s findings, most Canadians did not drastically change their shopping habits. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they didn’t shop early and 30 percent said they would be spending what they normally do, or more.
While the majority didn’t necessarily shop early it was still a concern for many, with only 17 percent of respondents saying supply concerns didn’t impact their shopping at all. For those with concerns, 27 percent said they made a conscious decision to shop early due to concerns the gifts they wanted to buy may not be available.
The study also looked at payment methods and found that most Canadians (48 percent) said they would use a credit card to make their holiday purchases this year, while 44 percent said they would use cash.
Evan Taylor is a reporter with CKBW in Bridgewater, a Huddle content partner.