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2022 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Shopping Expectations Among Canadians

(November 2022)

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After over two years of limited in-store shopping because of COVID, we see that digital dominates for Black Friday shopping among Canadians.

  • Over half (59%) of Canadians plan to shop online for Black Friday vs. 36% in-store.
  • Compared to a year ago before inflation hit, about half are planning on spending the same amount on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and on buying birthday or holiday gifts this year, but about one-third are planning on cutting spend.
  • Adult clothing, consumer electronics, and beauty products are the types of items shoppers are most likely to hold off on buying while waiting for a Black Friday sale.

How has COVID Affected the Price/Quality Spend Equation for Shoppers for Non-Food Products?

(October 2022)

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About one-third (34%) of Canadian shoppers are now spending less across non-food products than before the pandemic began, likely due in part to recent inflation.

  • Among those who are spending less, most are still buying at the same quality. The remainder are evenly split for trading up or down on quality.

Over 1 in 10 (16%) are now spending more on non-food products.

  • For those who are spending more, shoppers are also nearly equally divided for trading up vs. trading down on quality.

How has COVID Affected the Price/Quality Spend Equation for Shoppers for Beverages?

(October 2022)

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About one-third (32%) of Canadian shoppers are now spending less across beverage categories than before the pandemic began, likely due in part to recent inflation.

  • Among those who are spending less, most are still buying at the same quality. The remainder are nearly evenly split for trading up or down on quality.

About 1 in 5 are now spending more on beverages.

  • For those who are spending more, shoppers are generally spending more at the same or higher quality, with very few trading down.

How has COVID Affected the Price/Quality Spend Equation for Shoppers for Services?

(October 2022)

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Just over 4 in 10 Canadian shoppers are now buying service categories less often than before the pandemic began. Among those who are buying less often, most are either spending the same amount or less with each transaction.

Since many of these categories are discretionary (with gas fill-ups being a possible exception), they’ve been hit harder for cutbacks vs. what we saw for food, beverages and non-food products.

How has COVID Affected the Price/Quality Spend Equation for Shoppers for Food?

(August 2022)

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About one-third (35%) of Canadian shoppers are now spending less on food than before the pandemic began, likely due in part to recent inflation.
Among those who are spending less, most are still buying at the same quality, though someare also choosing to cut back on quality. Fewer shoppers are trading up on quality as they tighten their wallets.
Just over 1 in 10 (14%) are now spending more on food.• For those who are spending more, shoppers are nearly equally divided for trading up vs.trading down on quality.

COVID Impact on Shopping for Quality Across Product & Service Categories

(August 2022)

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Category buyers have disproportionately increased their spend in wellness products, energy drinks and baby products compared to before COVID.

The categories where consumers are now spending less than other others involve non-essentials (travel, entertainment,

eating out, clothing) as well as categories that are the strongest hit by inflation (e.g., gas).

Inflation Series Part IV: Where Canadians are cutting spend

(June 2022)

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Categories where Canadians have cut back even further since March 2022 include:

  • Electronics
  • Small countertop appliances
  • Eating out/ordering food
  • Sporting equipment
  • Groceries

Inflation Series Part III: Shopper Behaviour Changes Across Categories

(June 2022)

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In part III of the Inflation Series, we see that to save money, one-third or more of shoppers are buying ONLY when products are on sale, with some exceptions.

Canadian Attitudes Towards the Pandemic 2 Years Later

(April 2022)

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In April of 2021, we took a pulse of Canadian attitudes one year into the pandemic. Now another year later, we asked the same questions to understand if these attitudes have shifted and they have!

Inflation Series Part II: How are Canadians Cutting Back on Groceries?

(April 2022)

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CANADIANS ARE USING VERY DIFFERENT BUDGETING TACTICS BY GROCERY CATEGORY TO FIGHT INFLATION.

  • Switching to private label is more popular for pantry basics than other categories
  • Meat buyers are most likely to reduce how much they buy (and even more so among those 35+ years old and those with higher incomes)
  • Bread buyers are the least likely to cut back in any way

How if Inflation Affecting Everyday Spending?

(April 2022)

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Canadians have cut back across a wide range of expenses. Lottery, groceries, and pet treats are relatively less impacted, though still sizeable. One-third of Canadians have cut back on groceries with shrinkflation having a compound effect (higher cost for less).

The Balancing Act of the Sandwich Generation

(December 2021)

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Canada’s population is aging, and the burden of care for seniors
increasingly falls on their adult children. This growing “sandwich
generation” has the challenge of trying to balance the care for
parents/in-laws with their own careers, their relationships, caring
for their own children, and their health and wellbeing. Many
report feeling worried and overwhelmed, and feel the negative
impact on their health, relationships, and finances.

Canadian Recreational Cannabis Users Have Low Awareness of Recreational Cannabis Brands

(April 2021)

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Almost 3 vears after federal legalization in Canada, recreational cannabis consumers have low brand awareness across even the top-selling recreational cannabis brand. This suggests that brands have not made meaningful connections with consumers and that their position as market share leaders may be tenuous.

COVID Impact on Canadian Attitudes Towards Home, Social Life, and Work

(May 2021)

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A year later, Canadians are enjoying many aspects of the COVID reality:
• Less commuting, time to re-prioritize what’s important, quality time with family
But they are also showing signs of pandemic fatigue:
• Growing tensions at home; missing co-workers, running errands and socializing with friends

Pandemic Weight Gains & Losses Across Canada

(April 2021)

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43% of Canadians have gained weight during COVID. Canadians of all ages, gender, and provinces are equally likely to have gained weight since the pandemic began. But 1 in 5 Canadians have actually lost weight during COVID, with men, 18-34 year olds, and residents of Saskatchewan and Ontario in the lead

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Expectations a Year Later

(November 2020)

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2020 Black Friday/Cyber Monday continues to reinforce the significance of digital transformation at retail with significantly lower in-store shopping. In light of the current COVID-19 situation, few consumers in both Canada and the US are planning on shopping in-store this year for Black Friday vs. a year ago.

Ready to go Back to the Office during COVID-19?

(August 2020)

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Employers should focus on minimizing risk (perceived and real) around all common workplace areas. The return of Canadians to the workplace after working from home is expected to be slow and with varying degrees of discomfort across the journey.

Alcohol vs. Cannabis… A Year Later

(August 2020)

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Over a year later, more Canadians who consume both alcohol AND cannabis are stating that they do NOT expect to substitute alcohol for cannabis. This suggests that as the cannabis market continues to mature, consumers perceive cannabis and alcohol as fulfilling different needs.

Meat Consumption Post-COVID

(July 2020)

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Post COVID-19, 7% of Canadians have tried to reduce meat consumption and nearly twice as many are open to doing so. Women, BC, Quebec and Ontario consumers are most likely to have tried reducing meat with the intent to keep it up vs. other provinces.

Fewer Canadians overall have experimented with being a vegan or vegetarian during COVID-19 vs. meat consumption reduction. However, 18-34 year olds and women are more open to adopting this diet/lifestyle.

Meat Consumption Pre-COVID

(July 2020)

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30% of Canadians had already reduced meat consumption prior to COVID-19, with women, Quebec and British Columbia residents leading the way.

Younger age groups and women are more likely to be vegan or vegetarian relative to their counterparts, with no significant differences by province.

Summer Plans in Canada

(July 2020)

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Most Canadians are planning on staying close to home with some also planning home improvements. We also see some interesting differences by province. Though many anecdotal stories abound about pool installations, they only impact a small percentage of the total Canada populations.

COVID-19 WFH Attitudes

(April 2020)

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Though North Americans may miss the social aspects of work, most are adjusting easily and feel they could get used to it.

However, 18-34 year olds in both countries are finding it harder to concentrate and are eating more snacks than their older counterparts.

WFH Personality Types

(April 2020)

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Among the working population in Canada and the US, the proportion of the workforce now working from home has more than doubled due to COVID-19.

We discovered 4 Work-from-home personality types using a marketing sciences segmentation analysis through a large scale quantitative study. Understanding your employee and colleagues WFH personality can help optimize productive work relationships during the quarantines.

Which types of businesses should stay open during COVID-19?

(April 2020)

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Canadians are at least equally, if not more likely, than Americans to believe that the various businesses should remain open. The only exception is the dentist office, where Americans over-index.

Largest gap between the countries for public transit, taxis/ride shares and liquor stores.

How much money is life-changing?

(February 2020)

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$1.1 million dollars is “life-changing” for Canadians and Americans. Women and young adults are more likely to believe that less than $50K is life-changing. And the higher the income, the more they need to be transformative.

Canadian Black
Friday Shopping Expectations

(November 2019)

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Canadians plan to spend nearly as much time shopping online as in-store for Black Friday. This reinforces the importance of an optimized online experience and ideally, a seamless omni-channel experience.

Top items shoppers are holding out for include clothing for adults, consumer electronics, video gaming products and consumer electronics.

American Black
Friday Shopping Expectations

(November 2019)

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Americans plan to spend more time shopping online than in-store for Black Friday.

They also plan to spend 3x as many hours shopping online and 2x as many hours shopping in-store for Black Friday than Canadians.

Items least likely to hold for include clothing for kids, sporting goods and travel.

How Smart is
Your Home?

(April 2019)

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The U.S. leads Canada for smart major appliance ownership, largely driven by the younger age group of 18-34 year olds.

Future consideration of buying a smart major appliance closes the gap between the markets. And those who already own at least one smart major appliance are 2-3X more likely to consider another one vs. those who don’t.

THC vs. CBD

Canadian Cannabis Preferences

(April 2019)

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Among Canadian recreational cannabis consumers aged 19+, preference is clearly for products with a higher percent of THC vs. CBD. However, 1 in 4 don’t even know what type they buy.

Recreational cannabis consumers appreciate the anxiety reducing benefits of CBD without the high.

Alcohol vs. Cannabis

Part II

(March 2019)

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Among Canadian adults 19+, the incidence of consuming both alcohol and cannabis at least occasionally is 2x higher vs. that of cannabis only consumption. 30% consume neither alcohol nor cannabis.

Manitoba/ Saskatchewan has the highest incidence of cannabis only consumption and Quebec, the lowest.

Alcohol vs. Cannabis

Part I

(March 2019)

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Almost 5 months since the purchase and consumption of cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018, 19% of Canadians are consuming it at least occasionally for recreational or medicinal purposes.

Among those who consume cannabis for either recreational or medicinal purposes, half are recreational only consumers.

What’s in Your Super Bowl?

(January 2019)

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38% of Canadians plan to watch the 2019 Superbowl. It is an in-home special occasion half of those who are planning on watching it.

Savoury and hearty snacks anticipated to have the greatest share of Canadians’ plates for the big event. 32% plan to eat healthier during the event this year another one-third agree that the Super Bowl is as much about the ads as it is about the game.

Super Bowl Viewing Intentions

(January 2019)

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Nearly 2x as many Americans (66%) plan to watch the Super Bowl vs. Canadians (38%).

The Super Bowl is more of a social occasion for Canadians compared for Americans, while more Americans are likely to agree that the Super Bowl is as much about the ads as it is about the game.