News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 30, 2013) - Cyber Monday - one of the busiest online shopping days of the year - is continuing to grow in popularity for Canadian consumers.

According to the 2013 BMO Holiday Spending Outlook, nearly half (49 per cent) of Canadians plan to shop online this Cyber Monday - the Monday following American Thanksgiving - up from 44 per cent in 2012.

The survey, conducted by Pollara, also found:

• Those planning to make purchases on Cyber Monday this year expect to spend an average of $273, led by those in Ontario ($288) and Quebec ($284)
• Regionally, Ontarians are most likely (61 per cent) to shop online this Cyber Monday. Quebecers were the least likely, coming in at 31 per cent.
• Overall, 50 per cent of Canadians plan to do some of their holiday shopping online.

"Canadian retailers have jumped on the marketing bandwagon that has rolled out of the United States to increase overall sales around Black Friday and Cyber Monday," said Doug Porter, Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "Even with the increased focus on these particular shopping days, we are calling for a small gain of approximately 2 per cent in retail sales this holiday season."

"Canadians are early adopters of digital payment technology, so it's no surprise that nearly half of Canadians plan to shop online for Cyber Monday," said Nick Mastromarco, Managing Director, Credit Card Products, BMO Bank of Montreal. "Retailers and banks alike are now starting to offer a variety of tools and services to help make the online shopping experience more secure and convenient for consumers."

For example, BMO MasterPass™ is a free digital wallet that securely stores BMO MasterCard customers' credit card and shipping information so they can check out faster when they shop online.

Overall, the report found that more than one-third (36 per cent) of holiday purchases will be purchased using a credit card, 31 per cent using debit cards and 27 per cent will purchase gifts with cash. The number of Canadians who do some holiday shopping using rewards is up by 32 per cent in 2013 (22 per cent to 29 per cent); however just five per cent of all purchases will be paid using rewards.

Regional Findings

The survey results cited in the 2013 BMO Holiday Spending Outlook conducted by Pollara are compiled from an online sample of 1,215 Canadians 18 years of age and over between October 11 and October 16, 2013. A probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 2.8 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $549 billion as at July 31, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.