Here’s what Canadians are searching for this Black Friday and 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.¹

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 holidays², and nearly two thirds (64%) say they will browse for gift ideas online rather than in store.²

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.² 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.³

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.²

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 discounts² and 73% say they will shop with stores that offer free shipping.² 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%.⁴

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

Here’s what Canadians are shopping for this holiday season:

When shopping online during the holidays, or any time of year, it’s important to protect yourself from cybercrime threats. Click here for our latest tips for safe online shopping.

1. eMarketer, Canada Ecommerce Forecast 2022, July 2022.
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=429-580 online consumers 18+ per market taking actions while shopping. Sep 8 - 11, 2022
3. Google Internal Data (May-Aug 2022)
4. Google Internal Data (June - Aug 2022)