Email to a friend Printer friendly Font: * * * * Mompreneur asked its readers in a recent online survey how they would change their holiday shopping plans with an economic recession looming. Of the 250 responses, half said they would be spending less than anticipated before the crisis hit and half planned to spend the same amount. But Bechthold says households will likely continue to evaluate their shopping plans as the new economic realities take shape.
“Because (the crisis) is so new — it’s really only been in the last week or so that we’ve seen these huge fluctuations — I’m not sure the consequences have really sunk in yet,” she said.
“What women are feeling now could be different than what they’re feeling at Christmas time when it comes down to spending the big bucks.” The RCC has yet to release its official forecast but estimates holiday spending in 2008 will see a year-over-year increase of one to three per cent nationally, compared to the five to six per cent increases seen in recent years. Forecasts south of the border are similarly gloomy, with analyst ShopperTrak calling for 1.7 per cent growth.
“Compared to the U.S., our fundamentals are relatively strong. But in the face of what’s going on out there, there are going to be significant repercussions in Canada,” said Derek Nighbor, senior vice-president of national affairs for the RBC. “Retailers are preparing for a softening.” Some consumers may build their Christmas on credit in an effort to preserve recent standards of holiday revelry, says the editor of Sweetmama.ca.