Aggressive discounts and patriotism drive Canada’s holiday shopping season

Bruce Winder, president of Bruce Winder Retail, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss how Canadians are using AI for holiday shopping.

The holiday shopping season has begun in Canada, and ‘tis the season of sharp deals and Canadian patriotism.

Retailers are offering discounts earlier than usual because of economic uncertainty and consumer caution, retail analyst Bruce Winder with Bruce Winder Retail, told BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Canadian Tire is already into week two of its Black Friday deals, which began on Nov. 6.

“Just giving a quick review to some of the flyers and discounts, it looks like retailers are fairly aggressive this year on price,” said Winder.

Winder also highlighted the trend of retailers, including Amazon, promoting Canadian products to avoid tariffs.

“Consumer is nervous. Companies are nervous. The tariff threat is real,” said Winder.

Amazon Canada announced its kicking off its Black Friday deals on Nov. 20 until Dec 1. The company’s website mentions “Canadian products and small businesses will be prominently featured.”

Walmart Canada’s deals begin Wednesday.

Amazon Canada also mentions it will launch its first-ever Amazon App Day for deals only available on the app.

Winder said the app will help the company collect data on consumers to better understand what they’re looking for using AI technology, which is also something consumers will increasingly use this year to narrow their shopping searches.

Advertising hurdles

Winder said the Canada Post strike has been a burden for retailers like Canadian Tire which delivers its flyers directly to homes to advertise deals.

Canada Post workers stopped delivering flyers in September as part of the ongoing strike. The workers’ union argued that the flyer delivery program made working conditions more difficult for employees and not everyone was happy to receive flyers in their mailbox anyway.

Winder says flyers work for certain categories and consumers, and a good example is the Amazon Toy Book, a yearly holiday catalogue that showcases popular toys and gift ideas for children with interactive features like games, stickers and colouring pages.

“You get better engagement than if you just send them something online or an email format,” said Winder.

Practical gifts this year

Winder said consumers, particularly low income and mid income, are gravitating toward practical and essential gifts this year.

Canadians are shopping with sharper intent and keeping their holiday gift budgets steady at $975 per person this year, according to a Retail Council of Canada survey.

“If your toaster breaks, they’re going to get you a toaster for Christmas,” said Winder.

“They’re not going to get you some fun, crazy experience, so that’s sort of what we’re seeing more now.”