More Manitobans shopping in-store than online during holidays, survey suggests

Manitobans prefer to do their holiday shopping in a physical store instead of online, a new survey suggests.

Prairie Research Associates has released the results of a November survey that asked Manitobans about their holiday spending habits.

That survey also suggests that people who shop online tend to spend more than people who shop in stores.

While a significant number 41 per cent of respondents said they planned to do at least some of their shopping online, slightly more than half (51 per cent) said they didn't plan to do any online shopping.

The people most likely to shop online weren't in the youngest category, but those between 30 and 44 58 per cent of whom said they planned to shop online, according to the survey.

Higher-income earners were also more likely to shop online. Two-thirds of survey respondents with incomes of $100,000 or higher said they shopped online, while fewer than one-quarter of those earning less than $40,000 said they shopped online.

Online shoppers tend to be the biggest holiday spenders, the survey suggests, spending 58 per cent more than in-store shoppers. Among respondents, the average online shopper spent $852 for all their holiday purchases, both online and in-store, while those who don't shop online spent $538 on average.

$1 of every $5 spent online: survey

According to the survey, $1 out of every $5 Manitobans spend during the holidays goes to online retailers, "suggesting that local retailers will be competing for a smaller piece of the holiday pie," PRA said in a report on the results.

Respondents who live outside of Winnipeg were less likely than those who live in the city to shop online, but those who did tended to spend more for their online purchases than people who live in Winnipeg ($377 versus $289).

On average, Manitobans spent $654 on holiday shopping, according to the survey a figure that one financial counsellor said seemed low.

"I do about 500 budgets a yearfor the last seven years, so I've seen lots of budgets. That might even be on the low side," said Sandra Fry, a Winnipeg-based credit counsellor with the Credit Counselling Society. "I think that's fairly conservative."

Not surprisingly, the biggest spenders were those earning incomes more than $100,000, spending$988 on average, according to PRA's survey. Respondents between the ages of 45 and 64 also tended to spend more than others.

"That would be parents and grandparents in that category, so they've got a few more people to buy for," said Fry.

The survey was conducted with a randomized telephone sample of 800 Manitobans between Nov. 2-29. The results are considered accurate within 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.