Canadians finish 2016 with big spending

Black Friday’s gaining popularity helped Canadian customers finish the year off with a splurge.

Consumer spending in Canada grew by nearly 5% in the last quarter of 2016 when compared to the year before, finishing a year of increased spending in the country.

Moneris Solutions Corporation, one of Canada's largest processors of debit and credit payments,

In 2016, spending grew by about 5% (or more) each quarter.

"As we enter 2017, we expect a trend of modest growth to continue as Canadian policy-makers react to a changing global landscape and broader challenges present in the Canadian economy,” said Angela Brown, CEO of Moneris.

Regionally, Ontario and British Columbia led the country's spending growth this quarter, posting increases of about 6% each.

Share of spending during the fourth quarter was more heavily weighted toward credit cards.

Black Friday continued to gain momentum in Canada, with consumer spending up about 6% over 2015. By contrast, Boxing Day shopping was down about 5% compared to last year, suggesting that Canadians are changing their holiday shopping patterns as Canadian retailers offer more Black Friday deals and discounts.

For the fourth year in a row, December 23rd, was Canada's busiest shopping day of the year with an increase of over 11% in the number of transactions processed over the previous year, followed by Black Friday and Boxing Day. However, Black Friday was the biggest day of 2016 in terms of overall sales volumes.

Spending on foreign cards about 13% compared to last year, with the low dollar giving tourists and cross-border shoppers a reason to make purchases in Canada. Cards from the U.S. drove the highest foreign spending volumes.