Canadians feeling optimistic going into holiday season: Yahoo/Maru poll

Despite the emergence of the Omicron variant, Canadians are feeling optimistic going into the holiday season and plan to spend an average of $678 on gifts this year, a new poll has found.

A Yahoo/Maru Public Opinion poll released Monday found that Canadians are feeling optimistic about the holidays and look forward to returning to pre-pandemic routines, with nearly 70 per cent of those surveyed saying they were feeling the same about the 2021 holiday season as they did before the pandemic.

The poll, which was conducted in early November, also found that a majority (55 per cent) of Canadians are feeling positive about the state of the Canadian economy, prompting them to expect to spend $678 on gifts this year.

But the Omicron variant threatens to disrupt that optimism.

A separate Maru Public Opinion poll conducted on Dec. 10 found that 46 per cent of Canadians are worried about the variant and are going to adjust their behaviour in response to Omicron. Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) of Canadians say they will stay home more and shop less, while nearly one in three (28 per cent) say they have cancelled or postponed travel plans.

Still, while case counts increase and some Canadians make adjustments in response, Maru's executive vice-president John Wright says so far, most Canadians are not concerned.

"A majority of Canadians are not worried about contracting the Omicron variant virus and an equal number are just going about their lives as usual in their community," Wright said.

"Overall, hope for the holiday season exists as two-thirds (62%) of Canadians are holding out hope that the current vaccines or people's own immunity will protect them from the new variant of concern."

While there may be some uncertainty, Canadians have reverted to pre-pandemic shopping patterns, with 81 per cent of those surveyed saying they felt safe shopping in person, while 50 per cent plan to shop online.

Half (49 per cent) of Canadians had started their holiday shopping by early November, with the top purchase categories being gift cards (53 per cent), clothing (43 per cent), toys (30 per cent), books (29 per cent) and electronics (20 per cent). When it comes to spending, shoppers in Atlantic Canada plan to spend an average $787 – the most in the country – while those in Quebec plan to spend an average of $581.

But many Canadians appear to be holding off on travel plans. Just 5 per cent of those surveyed say they have booked air travel for the holidays.

The survey of 1,507 Canadian adults was conducted between Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 and has an estimated margin of error of +/- 2.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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