These stats offer a sense of the changing face of holiday shopping and retail in B.C. and Canada
Retail is the largest source of private-sector employment in B.C. As of June 2024, 321,000 British Columbians worked in the sector.
On average, Canadians planned to spend $1,347 on the 2023 holiday season. Though 29 percent planned to spend less on gifts than the previous year, 7 percent overspent their budget by more than $1,000.
65 percent of Canadians polled said they could not afford to travel during the 2023 holiday season. Of those who planned to travel, 50 percent said they would be spending less.
Canadian retailers moved $794.4 billion in goods and services in 2023, a 2.2 percent increase over 2022.
8 percent of B.C.’s retail sales took place online in 2023.
81 percent of British Columbians surveyed said they had made an online purchase in the previous 12 months.
Leading factors as to why British Columbians shop online:
57 percent prefer to deal with Canadian online retailers when they have a choice, down from 71 percent in 2021.
Sources: Retail Council of Canada, Ipsos, PwC, Canada Post, Statistics Canada