The strong Canadian dollar, a robust economy and lower prices are prompting Canadians to spend much more this Christmas than last year, according to two studies released Thursday.
Scotiabank's Holiday Spending Study finds Canadians are planning to spend an average of 907 Canadian dollars (907 U.S. dollars) on overall holiday spending this year, up from the 822 Canadian dollars (822 U.S. dollars) they intended to spend last year.
A study by Visa Canada shows Canadians plan to spend an average of 1,061 Canadian dollars (1,061 U.S. dollars) per person this year for a total of 23 billion Canadian dollars (23 billion U.S. dollars) across the country.
The Visa Canada study also finds that almost one in four shoppers expects to spend more than 1,200 Canadian dollars (1,200 U.S. dollars) and that they are buying fewer, but more expensive, gifts.
Last year, Canadians bought an average of 13.3 gifts. In 2007, that number would fall to 11.9, the study finds.
The Visa Canada study also finds that holiday shoppers plan to spend an average of 325 Canadian dollars (325 U.S. dollars) on seasonal entertaining, which means Canadians expect to spend an estimated 1,386 Canadian dollars (1,386 U.S. dollars) per person on gifts and entertaining combined this holiday.
Source: Xinhua
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