Canadians will spend more than a billion dollars on December 23, says Interac

If you are like most Canadians you are leaving your holiday shopping until the last minute, and a new survey has proof that you are no slouch. At least compared to other Canadians.

Interac says it expects December 23 will be the busiest shopping day of the year. Last year, Canadians conducted more than 21-million transactions worth more than a billion dollars on that day, topping December and Black Friday as the busiest shopping day of the year. It was a seven per cent increase in total transaction value over 2014.

The data comes from a online survey conducted by Angus Reid Forum on November 29 and November 30, in which 1508 randomly selected Canadian adults were quizzed about their shopping habits.

Interac’s angle in all of this, of course, is to get people to use their debit cards instead of their credit cards. A current high rotation TV ad employs a version of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairy” in which various toys in a toy store sing the word “debt”. Interac, which was founded in 1984 by RBC, CIBC, Scotiabank, TD, and Desjardins, is a not-for-profit that earns money from transaction fees to cover its operating costs, though these fees are much lower for merchants than credit card fees.
The company says it Interac Flash offering, which allows consumers to hold their card to a reader to process a transaction instead of inserting it, continues to grow.

“Our recent data shows Canadians are embracing the speed and convenience of Interac Flash, says Martin Ho, AVP of Product Management, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation. “For the month of November 2016, Interac Flash volumes have nearly doubled compared to the same period in 2015,” . “With the holidays nearly upon us, Canadians can rely on Interac Flash to speed through the busy checkout lines with ease.”

Interac says the results of the Angus Reid survey revealed that a third of respondents were concerned about overspending and 42 per cent felt financially squeezed during the holidays.

Additional findings from the survey include:

· 93 per cent of Canadians say they celebrate the holidays.
· Canadians are smart about developing shopping strategies: five in ten respondents to the survey said that they make lists before they go out shopping (52 per cent).
· Half of respondents visit a mall for their holiday shopping with the goal to hit as many stores at once (48 per cent).
· Half of Canadians go alone, so that they are not distracted and can accomplish their goals (50 per cent).
· Canadians aren’t early birds. Only 11 per cent of respondents said they will arrive as the doors open.
· While 59 per cent of respondents said they love to find that perfect gift for someone, a quarter (25 per cent) will also buy something for themselves.

Below: “Toy Store” – :INTERAC TV Ad | #MerryJanuary