Spending on non-essential items could be ‘thin gruel’ in post-virus world

Canadians don’t expect to be in much of a spending mood even after pandemic-related lockdowns are lifted.

More than a third of Canadians believe their discretionary spending won’t recover to pre- crisis levels after stores and businesses are reopened, according to a Nanos Research survey conducted for Bloomberg News. Just over 5 per cent of respondents expect their purchases to increase and 54 per cent think they’ll spend the same amount on non- essential items.

The data suggest damage from the crisis on consumer behaviour and confidence could be long lived, undermining the nation’s ability to recover quickly despite tens of billions of dollars in income support from the federal government.

“Even with the eventual reopening of businesses, sales of non- essential items could be thin gruel compared to the pre- COVID-19 world,” pollster Nik Nanos said by email.

There are notable regional differences in the numbers. Residents of Quebec, the province with the highest number of cases in Canada, are much more likely to say their spending will decline once the economy reopens, with 41 per cent anticipating a drop in purchases. In B.C., where the outbreak is more contained, that number is 28 per cent.

In Ontario it’s 39 per cent, just above the national average 0f 36 per cent.

There are no significant differences by age or sex.

The poll is a hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,049 Canadians, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. It was taken between April 25 and April 27.

Respondents were asked how they expect spending on non- essential items will change after economy reopens, compared with the past.