‘Big battleground’ of holiday shopping looms. How to trim your expenses

globalnews.ca:

‘Tis the season to be flexible and budget-conscious.

The weather might be cooling but Canadians still feeling the heat from years of inflation are looking to spread the holiday cheer this year without breaking the bank.

Average spending on holiday shopping is expected to increase by 10 per cent to $1,478, according to Deloitte Canada’s 2024 retail outlook that was released this week.

Most Canadians – 85 per cent – surveyed recently by NerdWallet Canada said they intend to give gifts this holiday season and they plan to spend roughly $700 on average on them. That represents a 6.4 per cent increase compared with last year’s planned spending.

Inflation, which has cooled to 1.6 per cent, is the key driver of why Canadians anticipate spending more this holiday season, experts say, as polling shows many have creative plans to rein in their shopping.

Barry Choi, a personal finance expert at Money We Have, said even though inflation is down, prices are still up compared with previous years.

“I think we’ll see more people being tighter with their budgets and capping how much they’re spending on gifts,” he told Global News in an interview.

Financial pressures are going to continue affecting holiday shopping this year and despite inflation coming down, that won’t necessarily “ease the consciousness of the consumer,” said Marty Weintraub, national retail leader at Deloitte Canada.

A quarter (26 per cent) of Canadians surveyed by NerdWallet in September said they will be giving gifts to fewer people this year due to inflation and a third (34 per cent) said they will be spending less per person compared with past years.

“We’re seeing a lot more flexibility, I think, in the way that people are approaching the holiday shopping,” said