Here's What Canadians Search on Black Friday & Cyber Monday

The holidays are around the corner, and the shopping season is in full swing. While this season is shaping up to be more of a ‘return to normal’, some shopping habits formed over the pandemic are here to stay.

The rise in online shopping has been a durable change since the start of the pandemic with no signs of slowing down. Ecommerce now represents 14% of all retail sales in Canada — nearly double what it was a few years ago.

This year, Canadian holiday shoppers say they plan to go online to research and inform their purchases before they buy. According to a Google commissioned Ipsos survey, nearly half (48%) of holiday shoppers say they will shop online more for the holidays, and nearly two thirds (64%) say they will browse for gift ideas online rather than in store.

But digital is also helping shape the in-store experience, with more than a quarter (26%) of holiday shoppers researching gift ideas and purchases before they buy. Searches for ‘curbside pickup near me’ has also increased 250% over the past year, and the growth suggest its not slowing down even as Canadians return to in-store holiday shopping

Holiday shoppers are also getting ahead of the season, with nearly 1 in 4 (22%) shoppers saying they had already begun their holiday shopping by mid-September2 and 1 in 3 (32%) saying they planned to start earlier than they did last year.

But this year, holiday shoppers will be more conscious of their spending habits and plan to make fewer impulse purchases. Instead, they will research, switch brands and seek deals before they buy. 85% of Canadian holiday shoppers say they will shop at store with discounts and 73% say they will shop with stores that offer free shipping. It’s no wonder that search interest for price sensitive terms have increased this year, with searches for ‘discount code’ up 200% and ‘price match’ up 700%.

Thankfully, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two key retail moments for the bargain hunting shopper, is upon us.

Here’s how Canadians plan to shop for Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year:

• Digital is here to stay and is now the gateway to all commerce
  • While we expect to see a return in-store shopping this holiday season, shoppers will use digital to inform, inspire and enable their purchases.
  • 86% of shoppers discover brands/products while browsing online1
  • 89% of holiday shoppers searched online first before a store visit2
• Holiday shoppers are price-conscious about their spending this season
  • 72% of surveyed Canadian holiday shoppers say they are concerned about the rising cost of items they need or want to buy2
  • 60% of holiday shoppers say they plan to buy less because of the impact of inflation on their finances2
  • Search interest for price sensitive terms have increased this year, with ‘discount code’ increasing 2x and ‘price match’ up 7x3
  • 85% of Canadian holiday shoppers say they will shop at a store with discounts2
  • 73% said they will shop with stores that offer free shipping2
  • 41% of holiday shoppers said they are comparing prices and price matching2
• Holiday shoppers are being strategic, making fewer impulsive purchases
  • More than half (54%) of holiday shoppers said they will confirm an item is in stock before going into stores2
  • 1 in 4 holiday shoppers say they are shopping for things now that they don't need until later because they’re worried items will go out of stock2

This article is a repost of the original Google Canada article. Information Sources:

1. Google/Ipsos, “Holiday Study,” Shopping Period Oct 30 2021 –Dec 23 2021, Online survey, CA, 18+ who shopped in the past two days.1 n= 2669; Think with Google: How consumers discover brands online
2. Google commissioned Ipsos Consumer Continuous, US, CA, UK, FR, DE, IT, AU, JP, IN, CN, BR, MX, ES, ZA, KR, AR, CO, BE, CL, PE, SE, NL, DK, FI, NO ~n=235-489 online consumers 18+ per market that plan to shop for the holidays. Sep 8-11, 2022
3. Google trends data, Canada English