CIBC Poll: Nearly one in ten Canadians plan to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

CIBC Poll: Nearly one in ten Canadians plan to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

Debit and Credit cards growing in popularity over cash for holiday spending

TORONTO, Nov. 19, 2012 /CNW/ - A new CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) Poll conducted by Harris/Decima reveals nearly one in ten Canadians plans on making a purchase during this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period - a figure which suggests that millions of Canadians will be shopping for holiday deals this weekend on either side of the border. The poll also reveals that Canadians won't be carrying a pocketful of cash during their shopping trips, as an increasing number of Canadians are turning to the convenience of using a debit or credit card for most of their holiday shopping.

Highlights of the poll include:

    --  9 per cent of Canadians say they plan to make a purchase on
        Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with another 7 per cent of
        Canadians saying they were undecided as to whether they will be
        making any purchases this weekend
    --  Regionally, Atlantic Canadians (14 per cent) and Ontarians (13
        per cent) are among the most likely to say they plan to make a
        purchase during Black Friday and Cyber Monday
    --  70 per cent of Canadians say they plan to use their debit or
        credit card to pay for the majority of their holiday spending
        in 2012, up from 67 per cent in 2011

"Black Friday marks the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season for 
many Canadians," said Colette Delaney, Executive Vice-President, CIBC. "With 
the start of the biggest shopping period of the year it's very important to 
consider your budget for gifts and other expenses and to start keeping track 
of what you spend over the coming weeks, Whether you are using your debit card 
to help keep closer track of expenses, or earning rewards on your credit card 
with a plan to pay off your balance, keeping track of your budget will help 
ensure that you spend only what you plan to this holiday season."

Canadians switching to debit and credit for holiday shopping

Paying by debit (35 per cent) and paying by credit card (35 per cent) are 
equally favoured payment methods for the majority of Canadian holiday 
purchases.

This means that more than two-thirds of Canadians (70 per cent) prefer debit 
or credit for holiday shopping, up from 67 per cent in 2011 - while those 
preferring to use cash has dropped to 27 per cent this year from 29 per cent a 
year go.

Both debit and credit cards offer Canadians security when making purchases, 
but can also make it easier to keep track of spending through tools such as 
mobile banking and services like CIBC CreditSmart, which alerts clients when 
they've exceeded their planned budget.

The survey also revealed that Canadians who said they plan to use their credit 
card to pay for their holiday purchases are doing so because they collect 
reward points (58 per cent) or for convenience (60 per cent), and most have a 
plan to quickly pay off their holiday spending in full (76 per cent).

"Being able to log in to mobile banking on your smartphone while you are at 
the mall, or receive an alert to let you know you've exceeded your planned 
budget are just two examples of using your smartphone or computer to quickly 
tabulate your holiday spending and know exactly where you stand in terms of 
your budget," added Ms. Delaney.

To help manage expenses over the holidays, CIBC offers the following tips:

For online or cross-border shoppers, know your payment options: For those 
preferring to pay by debit, you can use the CIBC Advantage Debit Card to shop 
in the U.S., internationally and at participating online retailers where Visa 
cards are accepted.  Plus, as always, you can use this same debit card to 
shop at stores in Canada where Interac debit is accepted.

Stay on Top of Cash or Debit purchases: Canadians planning to use cash or 
debit can track their spending by using the CIBC Mobile Banking App on their 
smartphone, allowing clients to check their balance and see what they've spent 
so far that day in just a few seconds.

Have a Plan for Credit Card purchases:  Canadians planning to use a credit 
card to pay for their holiday expenses should ensure they have a plan to pay 
off their balance to avoid incurring interest charges. With a plan in place, 
you can earn rewards for your purchases that may save you money on other 
items, such as discounts on gas purchases or cash back.

Free services like CIBC CreditSmart can help Canadians stick to their budget. 
Free to CIBC credit card holders, CIBC CreditSmart allows clients to set a 
budget limit on each spending category on their credit card, and be notified 
by phone, email or online message when they exceed their customized budget.

Redeem Rewards: 11 per cent of those surveyed said they were planning to 
redeem rewards to help offset the cost of the holidays. Whether you collect 
points or cash back on credit card purchases, there may be value in using some 
of those rewards this holiday season. For example, this year CIBC estimates it 
will reward clients with $89 million in Dividend Dollars on their December 
statements, up from $85 million in 2011, putting cash in their hands at a time 
when they can best use it to help offset the cost of holiday spending.

KEY POLL FINDINGS

Percentage of Canadians that say they plan to make a purchase during the 
upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period:

National                    9%

Atlantic Canada             14%

Quebec                      5%

Ontario                     13%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan       6%

Alberta                     7%

British Columbia            7%

Percentage of Canadians that plan to use their debit card to pay for the 
majority of their holiday spending by region:

National                   35%

Atlantic Canada            38%

Quebec                     36%

Ontario                    33%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan      36%

Alberta                    45%

British Columbia           26%

Percentage of Canadians that plan to use their credit card to pay for the 
majority of their holiday spending, by region:

National                    35%

Atlantic Canada             23%

Quebec                      35%

Ontario                     38%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan       34%

Alberta                     29%

British Columbia            43%

Percentage of Canadians that plan to use cash to pay for the majority of their 
holiday spending, by region:

National                    27%

Atlantic Canada             33%

Quebec                      25%

Ontario                     28%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan       27%

Alberta                     24%

British Columbia            29%

*Each week, Harris/Decima interviews just over 1000 Canadians through teleVox, 
the company's national telephone omnibus survey. These data were gathered in a 
sample of 865 Canadians who know how much they will spend over the holidays 
this year between October25(th) and 29(th), 2012. A sample of this size has a 
margin of error of +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11 million 
personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of products 
and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches 
and offices across Canada, and has offices in the United States and around the 
world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our 
Press Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.

 

Sean Hamilton, Director, Media Relations, CIBC (416) 304-8456 
or sean.hamilton@cibc.com

SOURCE: CIBC

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CO: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
ST: Ontario
NI: FIN ECOSURV 

-0- Nov/19/2012 11:00 GMT