Canadians 'hesitant' to jump back into Black Friday: Yahoo/Maru poll

Alicja Siekierska
·2 min read
Canadians 'hesitant' to jump back into Black Friday: Yahoo/Maru poll

One in five Canadians plan to take advantage of Black Friday sales this year, a new Yahoo/Maru public opinion poll shows, with the younger cohort driving most of the shopping.

The survey found that 21 per cent of Canadians intend to purchase goods this upcoming Black Friday, which would be a pullback in shoppers versus last year, amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the poll, 25 per cent of Canadians made a purchase in relation to Black Friday in 2020.

Younger Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 are leading the way for Black Friday shopping enthusiasm this year, with 41 per cent saying they plan to make purchases. Just 18 per cent of those between the ages of 35 and 54 say they plan to shop on Black Friday, and 8 per cent of those 55 and older will do so.

Maru's executive vice-president John Wright says there is a "counter-intuitive signal" in the poll findings.

"You would think that with employment recovering to pre-pandemic levels, most having a bigger savings account and debt downsizing, and with things more open than they were at this time last year that it would spur spending in the run-up to the holidays. But it's not there, at least (not) yet, in the sentiments we're looking at," Wright said.

"It's not to say an uptick won't materialize but the mood seems hesitant."

However, that does not mean that more Canadians won't get in on the retail event with the right convincing, which falls on Nov. 26 this year. The poll found that 46 per cent may end up participating in Black Friday, depending on the sale or circumstance. A third (33 per cent) say they will not participate.

For those who do plan to shop on Black Friday, the average spending budget is $418.30. The biggest spenders are in Atlantic Canada, who plan an average outlay of $562.10 this year, followed by Ontario ($430.40), Quebec ($420,80) and British Columbia ($413.10). The poll found that the top items shoppers are looking for are clothing (40 per cent), electronics (33 per cent), toys (20 per cent) and footwear (20 per cent).

The survey of 1,518 Canadian adults was conducted between Nov. 7 and Nov. 9 and has an estimated margin of error of +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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