19 Holiday Spending Statistics for Canadians in 2024

Growing up, you probably thought the holiday season was the most beautiful time of the year. Whether you were enjoying delicious food with your family during Kwanzaa or eagerly anticipating the arrival of Santa at Christmas time, the holidays were magical and timeless.

However, as an adult, you most likely look at the holidays from a different point of view—spending too much money on frivolous gifts, hosting lavish parties, and trying to meet the expectations of family and friends.

How do holiday spending statistics reflect this child-like nostalgia and these potential grown-up financial concerns?

Find out below.

Top 10 Holiday Spending Statistics for 2024

• Holiday shoppers in Canada spent an estimated $1,276 per person in 2020.
• Despite the pandemic, 37% of Canadians set money aside for presents.
• In 2020, 29% of Canadian holiday consumers planned on spending less money.
• Only 30% of Canadians intend to do their holiday shopping in physical stores.
• Holiday spending statistics show that one in three Canadians will do most of their shopping online.
• In 2020, 47% of Canadians surveyed claimed to have a set holiday budget.
• In 2017, 22% of Canadians were planning to shop last minute.
• 55% of Canadian millennials exceed their holiday spending budgets.
• Survey results from 2020 revealed 70% of Canadians did their Christmas shopping online.
• Only 9% of surveyed Canadians are likely to partake in trick or treating.

Overview of Holiday Shopping Trends

Let’s start by observing some general stats on global shopping trends.

Source: Statista

1. Holiday shopping facts from 2020 predicted Canadian shoppers would spend an estimated $1,276 per person.

(Western Union)

At the same time, the typical American shopper would shell out nearly $1,300 by New Year’s Eve. Spending was high in the United Kingdom as well—that same year, UK consumer holiday spending trends anticipated an average of US$1,360.

2. According to the global average holiday spending (per person), Canada ranks third.

(Western Union)

The average US holiday shopper spent the most on food and gifts, followed by the consumers from the United Kingdom and Canada. After Canada, the other top consumers were Australia, France, Singapore, Spain, and Germany.

3. Global holiday spending trends displayed that in November and December of 2020, online sales would reach US$189 billion.

(Western Union)

According to the Adobe Analytics Holiday Forecast from 2020, this figure represented a 33% year-over-year increase. Additionally, digital shopping was likely to exceed US$3 billion in a 24-hour period for 18 days during the holiday season.

Holiday Spending Statistics in Canada

In 2019, there were 4,450 gift and novelty stores in Canada.

Here are some Canada-centric statistics and facts on holiday spending that you should know. Continue reading for details.

4. 55% of Canadian millennials exceeded their holiday spending budgets in 2018.

(Statista)

Overall, holiday shopping season statistics revealed that the generation most likely to exceed their holiday spending budget in 2018 would be millennials.

Interestingly, in 2019, the millennial generation in Canada spent a total of $18,428 on necessities, such as electricity and gas, yet still dropped a hefty bundle on gifts.

The following year, holiday spending stats revealed that 20% of respondents (from a total of 705 Canadians) claimed that they exceeded their holiday budgets by between $1 and $100.

Moreover, 6% went over budget by more than $1,000.

5. Despite the pandemic, 37% of Canadian holiday shoppers squirrelled away some cash for presents.

(NewsWire)

According to the holiday spending statistics from 2020 by CPA Canada, this figure represented only a slight (2%) drop from 2019 when 39% of shoppers had saved money for gifts. Furthermore, in the spirit of the season, 82% of Canadians still planned on making charitable donations during the holidays.

6. According to data from 2020, 29% of Canadian holiday consumers planned to spend less money.

(NewsWire)

Holiday shopping statistics from 2020 revealed that the pandemic caused many Canadian shoppers to be more mindful of their spending.

However, Canadians still intended to drop an estimated $588 on presents during the 2020 holiday season—slightly higher than the year before, when the average was $583.

7. In 2020, only 30% of Canadian holiday shoppers planned to purchase their gifts in physical stores.

(NewsWire)

Based on holiday shopping statistics from the previous year, when the number of Canadians who planned to make their purchases in-store was 45%, we can safely assume that the coronavirus motivated people to shop online.

8. According to survey results, one in three Canadians expected to make the bulk of their purchases on the web.

(NewsWire)

Online holiday shopping statistics from 2020 revealed that fewer than one in five consumers wanted to do the same the previous year.

Nevertheless, plenty of survey respondents were excited about sales—58% of holiday shoppers in Canada intended to splurge during the biggest sales events, such as Boxing Day, Cyber Monday, or Black Friday.

9. 47% of Canadians established a holiday spending budget.

(NewsWire)

The stats on holiday spending from 2020 showed that this figure had decreased from the previous year when 56% of survey respondents claimed to set a holiday budget. An optimistic 78% predicted that they would stick to their budget.

The same consumer holiday spending statistics also revealed that 48% of respondents typically felt extra stress during the holiday season, equal to the findings from 2019.

10. In 2017, 22% of Canadians were planning to shop last minute.

(NewsWire)

Last-minute Christmas shopping statistics from 2017 indicated that 31% of Canadians wanted to make the bulk of their holiday purchases before the beginning of the winter season. This figure represented a slight but noteworthy increase from the year before when it stood at 28%.

11. In 2017, 87% of Canadian holiday shoppers claimed they usually buy gift cards as presents.

(NewsWire)

What’s even more interesting about these holiday spending numbers is that the same percentage of people were happy to receive a gift card. Surprisingly,  just 21% of people claimed to feel a bit disappointed when getting one.

12. According to holiday spending statistics in Canada, two-thirds of Canadians redeemed loyalty program points to buy presents in 2017.

(NewsWire)

Moreover, 59% of Canadians prioritized purchasing gifts from sellers that offered loyalty points. At the same time, holiday shopping numbers show that 47% planned on buying gifts from retailers that offered cashback.

Here are some other strategies Canadians used in 2017 to stretch their budgets during the holidays: 38% utilized social media for deals, 31% utilized social media for product recommendations, and 32% used mobile payment or smartphone apps.

Christmas Shopping Statistics

For millions, Christmas is the most awe-inspiring time of the year. However, as the following statistics demonstrate, this winter holiday can take its toll on our wallets. Let’s see what the Christmas spending facts reveal in Canada.

13. 24% of Gen Z shoppers worry about credit card debt during the holiday season.

(PWC)

Overall, Gen Z holiday shoppers were the most concerned about racking up credit card debt over the holidays. Worrisome millennials followed at 22%. Interestingly, Christmas spending statistics from 2019 showed that 19% of millennials claimed that they didn’t stress out about holiday debt.

14. In 2019, 43% of millennials planned to utilize smartphones to make purchases online.

(PWC)

Spending on Christmas statistics from the same year showed that Gen Z Canadians weren’t too far behind, as 36% agreed with using their smartphones to make online purchases.

Moreover, 26% of this generation were receptive to using innovative home technology to purchase items (e.g., Alexa or Google Assistant). Christmas shopping facts uncovered that for millennials, the percentage was slightly higher.

15. Survey results from 2020 showed that 70% of Canadian respondents searched online for Christmas gifts.

(FR24 New) (Think With Google)

Online Christmas shopping statistics from 2020 revealed that most shoppers in Canada utilized the internet to make their purchases. Not only was online shopping helpful for avoiding crowds during the holidays, but it was also beneficial in reinforcing social distancing per COVID-19 restrictions.

16. In December 2020, retail sales in Canada dropped 3.4%.

(Yahoo Finance)

According to Christmas retail facts from December, Canadian retail sales sunk to their lowest level since April 2020. This crash happened primarily because provinces in Canada intensified restrictions due to increased COVID-19 cases.

Statistics Canada reported that retail sales during the last month of the year dropped to $53.4 billion, with sales falling in 9 of the 11 subsectors.

Halloween Spending Statistics

Spooky facts and stats about Halloween spending in Canada!

In the following section, you’ll learn some of the most intriguing holiday shopping stats about this haunting holiday.

17. In 2018, 80% of Canadian survey respondents wanted to spend less than $50 on a Halloween costume.

(Canadians Internet)

Facts on holiday shopping from 2018 revealed that Halloween became one of the most popular shopping seasons that year. Canadian consumers spent more than $60 on costumes alone.

According to survey findings, these stats are not that shocking, considering 45% of Canadians claimed that Halloween is their favourite holiday.

18. Holiday season shopping statistics from 2020 showed that 54% of Canadians planned to spend money celebrating Halloween.

(Finder)

The percentage mentioned translates to over 16.2 million Canadian consumers. Based on these pre-pandemic Halloween shopping facts, the average Halloweener’s budget was $86. In total, Canadians planned to spend almost $1.4 billion on All Saints’ Eve.

19. Only 9% of Canadians surveyed in 2020 were likely to go trick or treating.

(Finder)

In fact, out of the over 1,200 Canadians surveyed, 62% said they had no plans. Just 5% said they would host or attend a Halloween party.

It’s evident that due to the global pandemic and social distancing requirements, thousands of communities across Canada either limited or cancelled trick or treating in 2020.

Conclusion

All in all, let’s hope the holiday spending statistics for the upcoming season will be optimistic. According to the figures above, not even the coronavirus pandemic could stop Canadian shoppers from having a blast during the holiday season.

As always, if you enjoyed our fun facts about holiday shopping, please share them with friends, family members, or anyone whom you think might be interested. By doing so, you’re helping us create more compelling articles for you in the future.

FAQ

What holiday has the most money spent?

Typically, winter holidays such as Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve are the most lucrative, with annual spending by household in the US totalling around US$1,387 in 2020.

(Market Watch)

How much money is spent during the holidays?

Let’s quickly compare the previous American figures to some Canadian stats.

Canadians spent a whopping $5.1 billion on drinks and food during December 2016.

Moreover, Canadian shoppers dished out $459.9 million on audio and TV equipment and another $417.8 million on hobby supplies and games/toys during the same month. Just think about this figure—in Canada, $170 is the typical yearly household expenditure on toys.

(Market Watch) (CTV News)

How much does the average person spend during the holidays?

In 2020, Americans planned to spend an estimated US$998 on seasonal goods and decorations for the holidays. Interestingly, this figure was down  US$50 from the previous year.

Comparingly, holiday spending statistics from 2019 show that Canadians planned to spend an estimated $1,593, up 1.9% from previous years.

(Investopedia) (PWC)

Sources:

• Canadians Internet
• CTV News
• Finder
• FR24 News
• Investopedia
• Market Watch
• NewsWire
• NewsWire
• NewsWire
• NewsWire
• PWC
• PWC
• PWC
• Statista
• Statista
• Statista
• Statista
• Think With Google
• Western Union
• Yahoo Finance