Numerator looks at holiday spending and shopping trends for 2024
As Canadians get ready for the various holiday this year, c-stores and grocery retailers should pay particular attention to the buying habits of consumers when seeking to boost foot traffic and sales in their operations.
The new 2024 Canadian Holiday Preview study by As Canadians get ready for the various holiday this year, c-stores and grocery retailers should pay particular attention to the buying habits of consumers when seeking to boost foot traffic and sales in their operations.
The new 2024 Canadian Holiday Preview study by Numerator, a data and tech market research firm, surveyed some 5,000+ Canadian consumers on how they plan to celebrate and shop for 13 major holidays through the end of the year.
The new study looks at five upcoming holidays— Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Ramadan, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.
What Numerator finds is that while Canadian consumers may make spontaneous shopping plans for such holidays as St. Patrick’s Day, holidays in the final few months of the year tend to get a more thoughtful approach by Canadians. With those holidays, a quarter of the consumers surveyed made plans several months on advance. For example, shopping plans for Christmas are made three months of more ahead of time. Several holidays were noted for being focused on family more that others. 57% said that they planned to spend Lunar New Year with family, with Ramadan (59%), Easer (65%), Thanksgiving (66%) and Christmas (68%) ranking as high or higher.
READ: Holiday season presents challenges and opportunities for c-stores
As will all holidays, food will play a big part of the celebration, with a focus on home-cooked meals: Ramadan (54%), Easter (43%), Thanksgiving (48%) and Christmas (48%). Other holidays tend to bring out the desire to escape the kitchen and celebrate at a restaurant, with going out to eat is more popular Valentine’s Day (41%) and Lunar New Year (30%) being two of the most common holidays for eating out.
Along with food, alcohol also plays a large role in holiday plans. Numerator finds that 47% of surveyed consumers plan to purchase alcohol on Lunar New Year, 59% for St. Patrick’s Day, 46% for Thanksgiving and 68% for New Year’s Eve.
About a third of shoppers say they’ll spend between $50 and $100 per holiday throughout the year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas expected to have the highest spend, with 60% of shoppers planning to spend $200 or more on Christmas.
Holiday shoppers are most likely to visit grocery stores for Thanksgiving, Easter, and Ramadan, while more will shop at mass retailers and online for Christmas and Halloween. Most Lunar New Year shoppers will spend between $50 and $200 on their holiday celebrations this year, with most of the shopping for that traditional holiday being in grocery store, some 47%.
Nearly half of Valentine’s Day shoppers expect to buy food or gifts this year, a third will purchase candy, and a fifth will purchase alcohol. Wine is the most popular alcohol for Valentine’s Day shoppers, followed by beer and spirits. Most shopping for this romantic holiday will be done in grocery stores (36%), mass stores (32%) and discount stores (30%)., a data and tech market research firm, surveyed some 5,000+ Canadian consumers on how they plan to celebrate and shop for 13 major holidays through the end of the year.
The new study looks at five upcoming holidays— Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Ramadan, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter.
What Numerator finds is that while Canadian consumers may make spontaneous shopping plans for such holidays as St. Patrick’s Day, holidays in the final few months of the year tend to get a more thoughtful approach by Canadians. With those holidays, a quarter of the consumers surveyed made plans several months on advance. For example, shopping plans for Christmas are made three months of more ahead of time. Several holidays were noted for being focused on family more that others. 57% said that they planned to spend Lunar New Year with family, with Ramadan (59%), Easer (65%), Thanksgiving (66%) and Christmas (68%) ranking as high or higher.
READ: Most Canadians plan to shop local this Canada Day: Survey
As will all holidays, food will play a big part of the celebration, with a focus on home-cooked meals: Ramadan (54%), Easter (43%), Thanksgiving (48%) and Christmas (48%). Other holidays tend to bring out the desire to escape the kitchen and celebrate at a restaurant, with going out to eat is more popular Valentine’s Day (41%) and Lunar New Year (30%) being two of the most common holidays for eating out.
Along with food, alcohol also plays a large role in holiday plans. Numerator finds that 47% of surveyed consumers plan to purchase alcohol on Lunar New Year, 59% for St. Patrick’s Day, 46% for Thanksgiving and 68% for New Year’s Eve.
About a third of shoppers say they’ll spend between $50 and $100 per holiday throughout the year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas expected to have the highest spend, with 60% of shoppers planning to spend $200 or more on Christmas.
Holiday shoppers are most likely to visit grocery stores for Thanksgiving, Easter, and Ramadan, while more will shop at mass retailers and online for Christmas and Halloween. Most Lunar New Year shoppers will spend between $50 and $200 on their holiday celebrations this year, with most of the shopping for that traditional holiday being in grocery store, some 47%.
Nearly half of Valentine’s Day shoppers expect to buy food or gifts this year, a third will purchase candy, and a fifth will purchase alcohol. Wine is the most popular alcohol for Valentine’s Day shoppers, followed by beer and spirits. Most shopping for this romantic holiday will be done in grocery stores (36%), mass stores (32%) and discount stores (30%).
