Nearly half of Canadians waiting to click ‘buy’ on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday – one of the busiest online shopping days of the year – is becoming more popular for Canadian shoppers, shows BMO’s 2013 holiday spending outlook.

Nearly half (49%) plan to shop online this Cyber Monday (the Monday following American Thanksgiving) up from 44% in 2012.

Read: Holiday shoppers to spend more without adding debt

The survey also finds:

• Those planning to make purchases on Cyber Monday this year expect to spend an average of $273, led by those in Ontario ($288) and Quebec ($284)
• Regionally, Ontarians are most likely (61%) to shop online this Cyber Monday. Quebecers were the least likely, coming in at 31%.
• Overall, 50% of Canadians plan to do some of their holiday shopping online.

Read: Holiday shoppers demanding big discounts

“Even with the increased focus on these particular shopping days, we are calling for a small gain of approximately 2 per cent in retail sales this holiday season,” says Doug Porter, chief economist, BMO Capital Markets.

Overall, the report found 36% of holiday purchases will be purchased using a credit card, 31% using debit cards and 27% will purchase gifts with cash. The number of Canadians who do some holiday shopping using rewards is up 2013 (22% to 29%); however just 5% of all purchases will be paid using rewards.

Read: Holiday spending to average $2,000

Regional Findings

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.