RetailMeNot.ca survey reveals Canadians are increasingly
worried about the financial year ahead
TORONTO, July 27, 2015 /CNW/ -- While it has not been
definitively declared a recession, Canada's shrinking economy certainly has some
residents concerned. In fact, according to a recent survey from
digital offers site RetailMeNot.ca, 73 per cent of Canadians are
worried about the nation's economy. July's interest-rate cut was
made in hopes of stimulating growth, but only 31 per cent of survey
respondents feel confident that the Canadian dollar will strengthen
before the end of the year – making it more important than ever for
Canadians to stretch their income further.
![RetailMeNot, Inc. logo. RetailMeNot, Inc. logo.](http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20130312/DA74245LOGO)
The current state of the economy has Canadians paying more
attention to their spending habits. Sixty-five per cent agree that
it's important to stick to a budget no matter the personal
sacrifice, with 62 per cent stating that cutting back has them
missing out on certain activities. Other habits Canadians are
adopting to save money include buying everything on sale (72%),
limiting meals at restaurants (62%), searching for coupon and promo
codes (49%) and taking public transportation or carpooling
(18%).
"Nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadians are worried about being
able to afford everything they need this year," says Kristen Larrea for RetailMeNot, Inc. "However,
with a little savvy spending, consumers should be able to satisfy
their needs and wants throughout 2015. Simple behavioural
changes, such as utilizing price comparison tools and checking for
online promo codes, will help Canadians maximize their purchasing
power, so they can get more for their money."
With the busy summer travel season in full swing, the value of
the Canadian dollar has residents second-guessing a trip south of
the border. More than half (58 per cent) of Canadians surveyed
indicated that the weak Canadian dollar would stop them from
visiting the U.S., while 66 per cent said that cross-border
shopping is no longer worth it due to the money lost on the
exchange rate. The upside? Sixty-three per cent of Canadians say
they would rather visit cities in their own country than travel to
the U.S. due to the state of the dollar. With more money being kept
north of the border, this could help improve the economy.
The rising cost of living may also be adding up to more than
Canadians can bear. According to the survey, the majority of
Canadians (88 per cent) agree that the cost of living has increased
where they live, with the average person now spending more than
$2,000 on the basics each month,
including rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries and transportation.
Housing accounts for nearly half of that amount, with an average of
$937 spent on rent or mortgage
payments. Regionally, those in Atlantic
Canada spend the least on housing ($711 per month) and Albertans spend the most
($1,171 per month), overtaking the
notoriously expensive British
Columbia housing market ($1,035 per month).
Other survey findings include:
- Shop Canadian: Fifty-nine per cent of Canadians feel
that online shopping on U.S.-based sites is a wash now that the
Canadian dollar is down.
- Retailers take heed: Eighty-two per cent wish that
Canadian retailers would price-match U.S. retailers.
- Debit cards are king: Paying with debit is the most
popular payment choice for Canadians (49 per cent).
- Party now, pay later: Eighty per cent agree that
Canadians put more of a focus on spending and enjoying themselves
than saving for the future, and 61 per cent wish they had begun
saving for retirement earlier.
- Vancity Blues: Canadians believe Vancouver has the highest cost of living
nationwide (59 per cent), followed distantly by Toronto (21 per cent).
About the survey:
From July 13
to July 14, 2015, an online survey was conducted among 1,506
randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum
panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling
variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been
statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and
region (and in Quebec, language)
Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult
population of Canada.
Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
About RetailMeNot, Inc.
RetailMeNot, Inc.
(http://www.retailmenot.com/corp) operates the world's largest
marketplace for digital offers. The company enables consumers
across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers
for their favorite retailers and brands. During the 12 months
ended March 31, 2015, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced over 720
million visits to its websites, and during the three months ended
March 31, 2015, RetailMeNot, Inc.
averaged 18.4 million mobile unique visitors per month. In 2014,
RetailMeNot, Inc. estimates $4.4 billion in paid retailer
sales were attributable to consumer traffic from digital offers in
its marketplace. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio includes
RetailMeNot.com, the largest digital offer marketplace in the
United States; RetailMeNot.ca in
Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk, the
largest digital offers marketplace in the United Kingdom;
Deals.com in Germany; Actiepagina.nl, a leading digital offers
site in the Netherlands;
Bons-de-Reduction.com and Ma-Reduc.com, leading digital offers
sites in France; Poulpeo.com, a leading digital offers site
with cash back in France; andDeals2Buy.com, a digital offers
site in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. is listed on the
NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "SALE." Investors
interested in learning more about the company can
visit http://investor.retailmenot.com/.
For interview requests or more information, please contact:
Erin Banting
Citizen Relations
416 934 8422 office
416 414 8637 mobile
erin.banting@citizenrelations.com
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SOURCE RetailMeNot, Inc.