WSL: More Canadians shopping for wants than Americans

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/17/2012 12:11:09 PM

New York - A new study by WSL/Strategic Retail examined Canadian consumer behavior and found that 64% of Canadians say they can still afford to shop for more than just basics - compared to half of U.S. residents who say they cannot.
"As U.S. companies struggle with sales and profit growth in a stalled global economy, and as the Internet continues to steal share of shoppers from the stores, the opportunity to expand into Canada has become very appealing," said Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL/Strategic Retail. "While each of the major retail categories exist, Costco is the only Club; Walmart faces off against a weak Zellers (at least until Target arrives in 2013); and The Bay and Sears are the only mid-tier Department stores. The added bonus is that few Canadians shop Amazon."
The retail scene in Canada is also less promotional than in the U.S., with 55% of Canadian women regularly clipping coupons compared to 68% of American women. Only 57% of Canadian women pick up circulars in the store, while 71% of U.S. women do.
Canadian women don't rely as heavily on online research before shopping. Fewer Canadian women search the Internet for deals (50%) than U.S. women (68%). Only half of Canadian women say they shop online, compared to 75% of American women. While half of American female consumers visit retailer and manufacturer websites, only 31% of Canadian women do. Only about a quarter of Canadian women (26%) have the ability to download apps to their mobile phones versus nearly half of U.S. women.
Which is no to say Canadian shoppers are on a spree. When they get extra money, more use the funds to pay down debt (33%) or add to savings (25%) than head to the store (15%).