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Retailing Consumer Habits
One in Five Canadians Buy Gifts at the Last Minute Holiday Shopping Fact Sheet
TORONTO - According to MasterCard Canada research, with less than one week until Christmas, 19 per cent of Canadians may not have even started their holiday shopping and often wait until Christmas Eve to buy their gifts. Two-thirds of this group (67%) is made up of men, with one-quarter of this category represented by dads.
"For 1 in 5 Canadian holiday shoppers, this week is crunch week," said
Julie Wilson, Director, Public Affairs, MasterCard Canada. "Because of their
disorganized approach, these last-minute shoppers often go over budget and
spend far too much time wandering around the malls on Christmas Eve rather
than enjoying the holidays with friends and family."
Some tips for the last minute shopper:
- Make a plan of attack - Don't arrive at the mall doors without a
strategy. Decide in advance which stores you need to hit and in what
order. And shop from a list that includes budget guidelines.
- Go early or late - Try to avoid the prime time shopping hours. Shop
early in the morning just as stores open. The crowds are smaller and
the salespeople are less stressed.
- Cluster - try to buy gifts for multiple recipients at the same store
rather than running around to 10 different places. For example, buy
books for everyone on the list.
- Travel light - Dress comfortably, and check your coat if you can.
- Keep track - Keep your receipts in one place and make notes on them to
remember which gift is which. Keep the receipts until you get your
credit card statement and can cross reference the charges and until
you've confirmed that nothing has to be returned or exchanged.
- Let your fingers do the shopping - If you act fast, you may still be
able to order online and get packages delivered in time for Christmas.
But check the shipping deadlines on the web site before you start
picking your items.
MasterCard's holiday shopping behaviours survey found that Canadians fall
into four categories:
- Stressed for the Season - 19% of Shoppers: Last-Minute Larry (or
Lucy): Most of these shoppers haven't even started their holiday
shopping. Because of their disorganized approach, you're likely to
run into Larry (or Lucy) in the mall on Christmas Eve as he
scrambles to find something for yet another person he forgot about
this holiday season.
- Practical Shoppers - 30% of Shoppers: Sensible Shopper Susie (or
Stephen): Because of their sense of practicality, expect that with
one week until Christmas, they've just about finished wrapping
their holiday gifts.
- Shop-aholics - 24% of Shoppers: Super Shopper Sheila (or Sean):
This group love to make shopping lists, they love to make multiple
trips to the malls and they'll likely be spending these last days
buying just a few more holiday gifts, maybe one last item for a
Christmas stocking, or one last treat for themselves.
- Super-Planners - 27% of Shoppers: Budget Bob (or Betty): Expect to
find Budget Bob and Betty enjoying a cup of holiday eggnog as they
relax and enjoy the countdown to Christmas Day.
The Survey also revealed:
- Shoppers expect December 22 to be the busiest shopping day, which
is in line with MasterCard global historical purchase transaction
data(*).
- One in 10 Canadians (11%) will need more than 15 hours to get all
their shopping done.
- More than half of men (54%) expect to complete holiday shopping in
less than five hours versus 45% of women.
- Females out-shop men with 56 per cent of women saying they have
more than 10 people on their list, versus only 39 per cent of men.
- One-third (33%) say they'll travel more than 20 kilometres to get
their holiday shopping done and another one-third (34%) claim their
shopping is done after one or two trips to the mall.
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