For a lot of Canadian ecommerce, retail and DTC brands, the holiday shopping season is prime time. The opportunity to increase sales and boost your brand awareness with promotions for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.
But for businesses like this, the magic of the season isn’t about having a sale, it’s about preparing the experience that lands – and lasts – with increasingly choosy consumers.
A strong purchase experience starts with a clear, consistent brand message – and is bolstered by sound infrastructure: your strategy + tech stack.
This is more than a discount weekend: it’s your opportunity to build loyalty, increase lifetime value, and capture new customers who will return beyond the sale.
How? Look at the data and start with what the market is telling us.
What’s Shaping Holiday Shopping in Canada?
Before you decide your holiday offer, understand what the market is looking for. Here are big three trends, backed by numbers, to consider in your holiday sales strategy.
Canadian Consumers are More Cautious and Conscientious
Canadian consumers are more cautious and conscientious with how much they are spending, and where.
A 2025 study from KPMG found that 86% of Canadians are worried about a recession with 94% concerned that the cost of basics, like groceries, will continue to rise. Unsurprisingly then, 84% of Canadians plan to reduce their spending on “nice to have” items in their budget and 71% are prioritizing deals, budgets and planning ahead.
What This Means For Your Holiday Marketing Plan:
Pricing and price-perception is going to play a key role this season. Consider alternative positioning for your pricing beyond a baseline discount, like bundles (value for money), subscriptions (extended value, dispersed spend), BOGOs and sample kits (smaller price point, easier entry). Discounts can be great to reward your best clients, but if that’s not. a core part of your position, be conscious not to train them to only buy at reduced rates. Relationship preservation matters more than transaction volume.
Shopping Local Is a Major Motivator
According to a survey by Interac Corp., 79% of Canadians say supporting local Canadian businesses is more important than it was a year ago. Similarly, 80%+ Canadians would prioritize shopping with a small, local Canadian brand over a major corporation. And, in a recent KPMG study, just over 50% of Canadians said they could be willing to spend anywhere between 2-11% more on a Canadian-made product.
This extends into consumer expectations for retailers: over 90% of Canadians surveyed expect retailers to highlight Canadian products. With this mindset shift, consumers are also looking at manufacturing labels closer – 84% are paying more attention to a product’s origin.
What This Means For Your Holiday Marketing Plan:
Consumers are looking to shop Canadian, and also local. If your product is made-in or manufactured-in Canada, be clear about this in your messaging. However, consumers also want transparency and authenticity so don’t just default to and rest on being a Canadian company to automatically win the share of wallet. Highlight the unique features that make your products uniquely Canuck or authentically local – create a true connection that makes it easy for consumers to choose you.
Where, When & How: Timing Matters
According to Statista, before Canadian Thanksgiving and during Black Friday weekend, the majority of Canadians prefer shopping online. In fact, according to the Retail Council of Canada, 48% of Canadians say Black Friday is the most important shopping day. Deal hunters are capitalizing on BFCM weekend and in 2024, Square reported that Cyber Monday online cart sizes were 4.9x larger than in-person.
However, in-person shopping remains strong. After Black Friday, around 60% Canadian consumers then flip to primarily in-store shopping.
What This Means For Your Holiday Marketing Plan:
Your omnichannel game needs to be tight – Canadians are starting their shopping online, and finishing their seasonal push with in-store retail purchases. Consistency in your messaging and adaptability to platform will help you create a seamless experience for consumers. It’s like we always say: consistency is what creates trust for consumers – and trust is what creates sales.
Using the Numbers to Help Shape Your Holiday Sales Strategy
This holiday season, plan your marketing strategy to tell the clear, authentic story of your brand, in ways that align with what consumers are expecting – which we can infer from market stats like these.
Read to map a holiday marketing plan that can maximize your results? Book a 20-minute strategy session with our team to audit your current plan and identify recommendations to help you ramp up your sales strategy.
