Canadian consumers adjust to higher cost of living [Video]

Travel and in-person events have been back for some time, with many Canadians also returning to the office. While lockdowns and restrictions are no longer at play, some economic concerns that emerged through the pandemic still remain.

Moneris, Canada’s largest provider of innovative solutions for mobile, online and in-store payments, commissioned a survey in partnership with Angus Reid to capture the pulse of Canadian consumers as they navigate elevated inflation, a higher cost of living and a potential recession.

The survey took a close look at consumer sentiment and Canadians spending behaviours.

When analyzing these areas, Moneris data and the survey revealed:

1. When it comes to saving money, Canadians are cutting back instead of cutting out. Compared to last year, more Canadians said they were purchasing fewer items at restaurants (38 per cent in 2023 versus 34 per cent in 2022), while the number of outings remained unchanged.
2. Despite inflation falling, concern is rising – more Canadians (62 per cent) are stressed about their financial future as they grapple with a higher cost of living compared to 59 per cent in 2022.
3. More Canadians (80 per cent) are looking for ways to make their dollars do more through sales/deals, an increase from the sentiment last year (75 per cent).
4. If they had $1,000 less, 79 per cent of Canadians said they would buy fewer items with more than half saying they’d sacrifice entertainment (56 per cent in 2023 compared to 31 per cent in 2022) and restaurants (52 per cent in 2023 vs. 28 per cent in 2022).
5. If they had $1,000 more, 62 per cent said they would buy more items with travel topping the list for a second year and groceries following closely behind with 48 per cent (up from 44 per cent in 2022).

In this video interview, Sean McCormick, payment data expert with Moneris, discusses the results of the survey.

He talks about how Canadians are cutting back, the stress of inflation and how they are looking to stretch their dollar.

#business #news #retail #money #consumers #spending #finances #Moneris

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Connect with Mario Toneguzzi, a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and the only Canadian – to learn how you can tell your story, share your message and amplify it to a wide audience. He is Senior News Editor with Retail Insider and owner of Mario Toneguzzi Communications Inc. and can be reached at [email protected].