Canadians Expected To Have A Huge Month Of Shopping

It should come as a surprise to no one that this month will mark the biggest month of shopping for the entire year. With the holidays almost here, Canadians are out in droves shopping for gifts. And according to Josh Duncan on KelownaNow.com, Canadians are expected to spend 17 percent more on their Christmas gifts this year than they did last year. This finding comes as one of the results from Accenture’s annual Canada Holiday Shopping Survey.

Duncan reveals that Canadians are predicted to spend an average of $873 each compared to $744 last year. He also recalls the findings of a 2015 Royal Bank of Canada poll that found that 41 percent of Canadians overspent on their holiday gifts last year, putting themselves in debt by an average of nearly $400 each. The RBC poll highlights Canada’s penchant for using credit cards as methods of payment.

Because holiday shopping clearly requires more money to be spent than normal, for the average person, it becomes helpful to have the option of extending payments for purchases over time. Darrin Surminsky is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee in Kelowna, British Columbia. He believes that credit cards help Canadians to spend more on holiday shopping than the budgets they originally outline for themselves.

“Many people go into the holidays having a budget, believing they can stick to it, but the costs of gifts, décor, food and drinks can end up being far more than expected,” he is quoted as saying, “Putting the balance on credit seems like an easy solution at the time, but it can really blow the holiday budget..No one wants to feel like the Grinch, so many end up relying on credit cards, even though they may be unable to pay off the bill in January.”

Surminsky does point out, of course, that if Canadians choose to extend payments on their credit cards, the gifts they purchases will inevitably cost them more over time. However, as most savvy shoppers are aware, interest charges can be avoided as long as the credit card bills are paid in full. But this, of course, is of no concern to merchants.

However, both the recent Accenture survey and the RBC poll from last year speak to a very important point that Canadian merchants should take to heart. This nation is one filled with people who enjoy the benefits of shopping with their credit cards. In addition to the flexible payment options they provide, credit cards also give their users added purchase protection and rewards points among numerous other benefits.

If you’re not accepting credit cards at this stage in the game, you’re risking the chance of losing out on a great number of sales this holiday season. At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer Canadian business owners the opportunity to cash in on the nation’s credit card craze. We provide both Countertop and Wireless POS terminals of the highest quality. We also offer the most affordable rates in industry!

For more information about how you can begin accepting credit cards at your business, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.