It’s going to be a breakout holiday season for Canadian e-commerce, and especially for the Black Friday weekend. According to a recent Google study, 34% of Canadians will research and buy products online at some point over the holidays — a 26% increase over 2013.
But consumers’ online habits are a little more complicated than that — some are using mobile to compare prices in-store, while others are searching for Black Friday deals before they leave home. We’ve rounded up a couple recent studies that help clarify what consumers are up to this weekend.
Survey by: IPG Mediabrands
Methodology: Online survey of 1,000 Canadians from October 17-22.
- 49% (16.3 million) of Canadians plan to shop on either Black Friday, Cyber Monday or both
- Total predicted spend over the weekend: $13.4 billion
- Shoppers are as likely to do online research for Black Friday as Cyber Monday, with around 70% saying they will do research on desktop, 50% on tablet, and 30% on mobile
- Roughly half of shoppers do research only a few days before (48% Black Friday; 45% Cyber Monday)
- 57% plan to make Cyber Monday purchases on desktop, versus only 17% on tablet and 8% on mobile
Survey by: CIBC, Angus Reid and Leger
Methodology: Online survey of 1,505 Angus Reid Forum panelists from November 7-10, plus an online survey by Leger of 301 managers at non-U.S.-affiliated retail businesses from September 15 to October 3.
- 47% of Canadians 18-34 say they will go Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping, compared to just 18% among 35+
- 32% of Canadians are undecided over whether they’ll go Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping
- Among Canadian retailers, only 24% say they plan to or are considering discounting goods for Black Friday/Cyber Monday
- 64% of Canadian retailers don’t think Black Friday/Cyber Monday has an impact on their business; 19% say it has a negative impact
Survey by: Google Canada, Ipsos Reid
Methodology: Online survey of 1,054 Canadian holiday shoppers from September 10 to 17.
- Almost half of all clothing and electronic purchases this holiday will occur on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- 59% of Canadians plan to use their smartphone for holiday browsing, up nine points from 2013
- Top reasons holiday shoppers use mobile: comparing prices (38%), finding nearby stores (31%), locating retailers of interest (30%) and looking for promos/coupons (29%)
- When holiday shopping online, 77% are not tied to a specific store or retailer and 73% do not have specific brands in mind
