Most (65%) Canadians Kept Their Holiday Spending in Check This Year, While One in Three (35%) Went Over Budget

Toronto, ON - It's about that time of year when holiday-shopping credit card bills are coming due and many Canadians realize just how much they spent over the holidays. But a new Ipsos Reid poll has found that most Canadians managed to keep their holiday spending in check this year and didn't overspend what they had intended to spend.

Two thirds (65%) of Canadians say they didn't spend more than they wanted to during the holiday season, while 35% admit that they did. Those most likely to keep on track were those from BC (70%), Alberta (69%), Quebec (69%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (63%), Atlantic Canada (62%) and Ontario (60%).

Among those who didn't overspend, the secret to their success was not wanting to go into debt or increase their debt load (35%), keeping track of their spending by making a budget and sticking to it (34%), knowing how much they had to spend once it was gone "that's it" (24%), having a savings goal in mind that they wanted to reach and keeping that goal in mind (13%), or some other tactic (14%).

Sticking to using cash to pay for their purchases also appears to have helped most Canadians with their holiday spending. Seven in ten (69%) say that they financed most of their holiday spending with cash, placing it well above credit cards (47%), lines of credit (3%) or an annual bonus (3%). One in ten (12%) say that they financed most of their holiday spending through redeeming rewards points for gift cards and merchandise (12%).

In fact, three in ten (29%) rewards collectors say that they redeemed their rewards points this year to offset expenses, even if it wasn't what they used to pay for most of their gifts. Those who did redeem points used them for gift cards (51%), merchandise (44%), groceries (42%), paying down their credit card (6%), travel (5%), charitable donations (3%) or something else (6%).

Not only were points being redeemed, but collected too. Nearly half (44%) of Canadians say that they looked for ways to maximize their rewards points collection when purchasing their holiday gifts. Among those who did, six in ten (59%) looked for bonus points offers, while others purchased all items using one rewards credit card (42%), shopped only at retailers where they could collect points (40%), or employed some other tactic (7%).

Returning back to the 35% who overspent, when asked what they will do to get back on track, four in ten (39%) will cut back on their entertainment expenses, while a similar proportion (37%) will cut back on their day to day living expenses, like groceries, phone and cable (37%). Others will cut back on using their credit card (30%), lunch and coffee money (30%), or using their line of credit (10%). One in ten (11%) have no idea where to start cutting back, and 5% said they won't cut back, and won't get back on track.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between January 15th to 20th, 2015, on behalf of RBC. For this survey, a sample of 2,006 adults was interviewed via the Ipsos I-Say online panel. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. The "How did you finance your Holiday Spending" question was fielded between January 30th and February 5th to a separate sample of 2,000 Canadians.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 87 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,712,4 million (2 274 M$) in 2013.

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