Kawartha Lakes Consumer Stats: 3 Important Influences Affecting Canadian Shopping Trends

Kawartha Lakes Mums - How Can Your Business Benefit From New Canadian Shopping Trends?

Kawartha Lakes Consumers - Do they follow rising Canadian shopping trends?
Also on Kawartha Lakes Mums:

• More Business Opportunities

 Business Development Bank of Canada Fall 2013 Report pointed to 3 phenomena creating 5 Canadian consumer trends. How can your small to medium sized business benefit from these growing trends?
Note: All links show a word from a sponsor before the destination url.

Three Phenomena Affecting Canadian Consumer Trends

Canadian Shopping Trends 

Three influences on Canadian Consumer trends reported by BDC are:

• Advances in technology, 
• Changing demographics, and the 
• 2007-08 global recession –lingering effects

To what extent are these phenomena present in City of Kawartha Lakes?

• Advances in technology ComScores 2014 white paper Canadian Digital Future in Focus  showed in Canada Smartphone adoption soared to 75 percent among Canadian mobile users, with Android currently leading in platform market share at 44 percent. Online video is of growing importance and online engagement remains high while smartphone and tablet TV/video viewing is growing rapidly. Empirical Evidence: Drop by any free wifi location in City of Kawartha Lakes, and you will see people of all generations using mobile phones to access the internet. Yes Mobile is here and growing. Did you know there is even an app for our waste department?
• Changing Demographics - Canada's population is aging due to the Baby-Boom , and by 2017 it is expected 17% of residents will be new Canadians. with largest visible minorities being Chinese and South Asians.  Stats Canada 2011 Kawartha Lakes report  showed Kawartha Lakes had many more seniors than the provincial average, 19.43% compared to 14.6%, while we may believe it is due to Kawartha Lakes being an ideal retirement community, we also had a higher percentage of working seniors. Contrary to rumours about teen pregnancies in Kawartha Lakes, there were slightly more children in married households than the provincial average. However, the number of children 24 and under in Kawartha Lakes families was just slightly above Ontario averages. While most of Ontario and Canada have a larger multi-cultural mosaic,  City of Kawartha Lakes has only about a 1/3 the percentage of immigrants. It is interesting to note we  do have a higher percentage of  Korean, German and Polish speakers than the provincial average. 
• Global Recession - Stats Canada 2010 report on City of Kawartha Lakes Economy shows Kawartha Lakes Incomes in 2010 to be lower than the provincial average - except one segment single males! Single males reported incomes higher than both the Ontario and national average!   Youth employment was just slightly under, but the major workforce lagged significantly behind. The entrepreneurial spirit is very active in City of Kawartha Lakes -  14.5% are self-employed here compared to 10.9% of the provincial average.

BDC points to these three phenomena as directly affecting Canadian Buying Trends. How do you see these statistics as influencing your business?

5 Major Canadian Buying Trends

Five main Canadian Consumer trends reported by BDC are:

1. Internet Influencing Buying Behaviour -The internet is much more than just an online purchasing tool; it is now embedded in most product purchase journeys including price comparison. It is essential to offer more than the lowest price. What is your unique selling position? Perhaps like Nisbett's Clothiers, you open your store during off hours on request.
2. Health Conscious Consumers -  Canadian health-related concerns and preoccupations have translated into new consumer behaviours and habits. This is largely impacted by an aging population wanting to maintain their health. 31% of Canadian consumers are willing to pay a premium for health- enhancing products. How does your business connect to these health trends?
3. Ethical Awareness-social and environmental responsibility issues increasingly influence consumers’ choices; 10 years ago, few consumers were preoccupied by this phenomenon. A majority of Canadians now make an effort to buy local or canadian-made products and some are willing to pay a premium. Does your business highlight local characteristics of your products like the Kawartha Store?
4. Customization Becoming King-Empowered consumers are playing a growing role in the design of consumer products and the range of available products. Bulldogg Custom Apparel, and  Lorraine Leonard Lines, and Total Foot Care are three local businesses offering customization to meet customers' needs. Do you offer customization?
5. Frugal Now Fashionable -The economic recession has deeply affected consumer behaviours, and its impact continues today. Consumers are interested in pricing models based on use rather than ownership. Do you offer rentals of your products? While vehicle, vacation property and wedding decor rentals are traditional rentals, other sectors are beginning to respond to the per use pricing model.

What do these five major Canadian buying trends mean for your business?
Related Links
Any adfly links below will first show a word from a sponsor. Click "SkipAd" in the top right corner to proceed to the url. Want a direct link to you site? Leave a confidential comment to sponsor a link or post. Thanks to the sponsors who support our work.

• ComScores 2014 white paper Canadian Digital Future in Focus http://adf.ly/4009826/tech-use-canada
• BDC report at: http://adf.ly/4009826/bdc-canadian-shopping-report
• Bulldogg Custom Apparel http://adf.ly/4009826/bulldogg-apparell
• Lorraine Leonard Lines http://adf.ly/4009826/lorraine-leonard-lines
• Total Foot Care http://adf.ly/4009826/total-foot-care
• Kawartha Store http://adf.ly/4009826/kawartha-store

Subscribe to Kawartha Lakes Mums to stay in the loop! Visit us on Kawartha Lakes Mums Facebook Page, Kawartha Mums Twitter, and Check out Kawartha Lakes Mums Youtube for Insider Secrets Note: This unsponsored post contains an ad.fly link to help cover expenses. Find out more at : http://adf.ly/?id=4009826