Findings of a new survey from Interac Corp. released yesterday show that three-quarters of respondents believe the pandemic has made shopping and supporting businesses in their community more important.
In addition, more than half of Canadians (55%) say their desire to support local businesses is causing them to shift their spending by shopping closer to home, a release stated: “The shift to remote work, coupled with the desire to shop locally, may be lasting trends that will positively impact local business recovery post-pandemic.
“Shopping local isn’t just lip service or a matter of convenience. Canadians are willing to take additional steps to support local. Close to half of Canadians (48%) are willing to wait longer for delivery or pickup.”
A full 50% of respondents said they are willing to pay up to five dollars more and 31% up to 10 dollars more for the same product, if needed, to support local businesses instead of purchasing from major online retailers, findings revealed.
“While spending is still down overall and the impact of the pandemic to small businesses is still being felt across the country, Canadians are telling us that when they do spend, they want their dollars to support small business recovery post-pandemic,” said William Keliehor, chief commercial officer at Interac.
“We also know digital, contactless payments are an important driver of choice. Ensuring local businesses can serve customers safely with digital solutions will be an important part of the economic recovery when spending returns to pre-pandemic levels.”
Meanwhile, 66% of Canadians said businesses that fail to adapt to allow digital payments will struggle.
“Our transaction volumes show just how many businesses are already turning to digital payments to help their consumers transact in the new normal, which is a promising trend that will contribute to recovery when Canadians return to pre-pandemic shopping frequencies across all major types of business,” Keliehor said.
“The stickiness of digital payment solutions will have a long-term impact on Canada’s retail industry. Businesses who prioritize integrated payment options across the consumer’s shopping journey, whether online, in-app or in-store, will be better positioned in the future.”
Interac commissioned Hill+Knowlton Strategies to conduct a national survey of adult Canadians. A total of 1,000 adult residents of Canada were surveyed online in April.
