According to Quebec’s retail council, a lot of Quebec consumers are still actively avoiding purchasing American. In its latest survey, the council found that 85 per cent of Quebecers avoid American products, while 87 per cent favor local brands and 80 per cent increasingly shop in local stores. “In the beginning, eight months ago, it was new,” Damien Siles, Quebec Retail Council CEO, said. “But right now, we can see it’s going to be a habit and it’s very interesting for the retailers.” Siles says there is something “very paradoxical” in the latest numbers. It also shows an increasing number of Quebecers are buying from online shopping platforms like Temu and Shein. In the last six months, 26 per cent of Quebec consumers purchased on Temu. In April, it was 24 per cent and 21 per cent in January. “It’s very serious and it’s scary for the retailers,” Siles said. “It’s not possible to be able to do something when you have a price five, ten times less than they are going to sell in Quebec or Canada.” He’s calling on the federal government to step in with stricter rules for online shopping platforms. “We ask the federal government to act and to do like Europe to find a way to come with some concrete act to avoid this disaster,” Siles said. “Because it’s going to be a disaster, if we’re not going to act quickly.”
