JLL survey reveals Canadian shoppers will leverage both physical and online stores for their holiday shopping

TORONTO – A recent JLL survey shows Canadians have similar holiday shopping goals irrespective of age, location or gender. Key differentiators are found in budgets, shopping destinations and where to get gift ideas.

Starting point of the holiday season

Black Friday is considered again this year as the starting point for the holiday shopping season with 28% of respondents planning to kick off their shopping at that time and through Cyber Monday. Additionally, close to 25% of shoppers picked Black Friday as the top deal day. However, when comparing age, 71% of Gen Z shoppers (between 18 and 24 years old) enjoy sales on top deal days while only 24% of seniors decide to venture out at that time.

The Mobile Experience

Almost 90% of respondents will use their mobile device during the shopping process. While this high rate unsurprisingly varies by generation, it still demonstrates the importance of mobile devices for transactions across generations.

Bricks still beat clicks

Two-thirds of the consumers surveyed plan to visit physical stores during this holiday season, and 57% plan to seek out online retailers. Over 30% of respondents said they would check both online and in-store.

“We are observing that the multichannel shopping experience continues to grow as shoppers take advantage of both physical stores and mobile devices to enhance their retail experience,” said Thomas Forr, Director of Research, JLL Canada. “This year, 20% of shoppers have affirmed picking up their online orders at physical stores, which is another popular offer among retailers to increase store traffic while leveraging the efficiency of mobile shopping.”

Interestingly, more than one-third of shoppers will get gift ideas by browsing in-store while 21% will browse online only.

Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, Hudson’s Bay, and Costco are the top five picks for this holiday season. Results only differ by age and income levels, where certain retailers are preferred by Gen Z shoppers (H&M and Best Buy) over mass merchandisers preferred by older generations (Walmart and Hudson’s Bay). Only high-income shoppers (over $100,000) prefer online retailers.

Saving while you shop

The consensus among Canadians of all generations is that saving money is the most important shopping factor. Avoiding the hassle and crowds came second at 21%. On average, Canadians are planning to spend $425 on gifts, while early shoppers will attribute a higher budget of $500 for their holiday spending. Respondents also mentioned shopping at thrift and consignment stores such as Value Village and The Salvation Army and donating to charities like Goodwill Industries and Senior Animals in Need Today Society this holiday season.

Methodology

JLL surveyed 1,000 Canadian shoppers from different provinces and territories, income levels, generations and genders about their holiday season shopping patterns. The survey was conducted in late September of 2019 and asked single answer, open-ended, and check-all-that-apply questions.

For more information, the full report is available here.