As the 2023 holiday season approaches, a recent survey found that economic inflation in Canada has triggered a damper effect on the gift-giving plans of many.
According to data gathered by Toronto-based global customer engagement and business insights platform Givex for its annual Holiday Gift Card Survey, finances in Canada are tight and as a result most intend to spend less on gifts this year than in 2022.
“Our Holiday Gift Card Survey data reveals the effects of rising prices on consumer spending,” stated Mo Chaar, who serves as Chief Commercial Officer of Givex. “The impact of inflation has been felt by Canadians this year, with increasing costs of living across the board.”
Yet recent e-commerce advents, such as interest-free loans offered during digital checkouts, has Canadians acting against their own words.
Three-quarters of Canadians used at least one emerging payment method in 2022, such as cryptocurrency or “Buy Now, Pay Later” services, according to data from Mastercard’s New Payments Index, but the growth didn’t stop there.
The Mastercard index predicted adoption of “BNPL” fintech would rise markedly through 2023, and so far, the payments titan’s forecast is accurate.
With the hectic commerce weekend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday wrapped up, data from Adobe Analytics shows adoption of BNPL-style features was up nearly 20% in North America year-over-year.
As adoption grows, so does gross expenditure: Money spent through BNPL was up 14% YoY for November and 20% over the Black Friday weekend, Adobe found.
High interest rates and rising costs of living throughout the Western world hasn’t yet damped online spending, it appears, with overall e-commerce spending up more than 5% compared with 2022.
Canadian fintechs innovating the BNPL space include Vancouver-based Tabit and Toronto’s Financeit as well as Ottawa’s Shopify.
Payments pioneers Square and Stripe have also established BNPL footprints in Canada.
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