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Consumption trends
Canada
Consumption behavior | Consumption expenditure | Rate of household equipment
Consumption behavior
- Growing sectors
- Telecommunications, IT, "fair trade" products (coffee, clothing, shoes), "organic" products, pharmaceutical products, natural healthcare products, tourism, leisure.
- Consumer behavior
- Today, the Canadian consumer is more and more aware of the problems of the environment and overconsumption. He looks more closely at the quality of a product, its origin, its composition and its price. However, he remains excessively subjected to advertising and is inclined to buy trendy products.
- Consumer profile and purchasing power
- The Canadians' standard of living is one of the highest in the world.
At the present time, purchasing behavior is changing especially among young adult Canadians. Their objective, for most of them, is to finish their studies, buy a property and have children. Middle-aged adults and baby-boomers (the 1946-1966 generation) treat themselves to many leisure activities. Canadians care about their food and do not hesitate to buy natural, organic healthfoods. Everything concerning comfort and well-being is very important. - Consumer recourse to credit
- Common. Used to buy goods and services on credit and/or to finance purchases already made. The most common form of credit is the cash loan granted for retail purchases paid for in instalments, usually large items (furnishings or cars), but also petrol and other consumer non-durables.
- Consumers associations
-
The Consumer Association of Canada
OPC
Alberta Consumers' Association
Consumption expenditure
| Purchasing power parity | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Purchasing power parity (Local currency unit per USD) | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.24 |
Source:
World development indicators, World Bank
Definition: Purchasing power parity is the number of units of a country's currency required to buy the same amounts of goods and services in the domestic market as USD would buy in the United States.
| Household final consumption expenditure | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Household final consumption expenditure (Million USD, constant price 2000) | 470,191 | 489,817 | 511,237 |
| Household final consumption expenditure per capita (USD, constant price 2000) | 14,552 | 14,982 | 15,503 |
| Household final consumption expenditure (annual growth, %) | 3.8 | 4.2 | - |
| Household final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) | 55.4 | 55.4 | 55.5 |
Source:, last available data
| Consumption expenditure by product category as % of total expenditure | 2005 |
Rate of household equipment
| Personal taxes | 20.5% |
| Housing | 18.9% |
| Foodstuffs | 10.7% |
| Water, fuel, electricity | 3.2% |
| Household maintenance | 4.6% |
| Communications | 2.1% |
| Child care expenses | 0.4% |
| Expenses for pets | 0.6% |
| Furnishings and household fittings | 2.9% |
| Clothes | 3.9% |
| Transport | 13.6% |
| Healthcare | 2.7% |
| Personal care | 1.6% |
| Leisure | 5.9% |
| Reading material and printed matter | 0.4% |
| Éducation | 1.8% |
| Tobacco and articles for smokers | 0.9% |
| Alcoholic drinks | 1.2% |
| Games of chance | 0.4% |
| Individual insurances and pension contributions | 5.9% |
| Donations and contributions | 2.6% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadians' spending habits, last available data
Household equipment
| Main consumer durables as % of households owning them | 2006 |
| Washing machine | 80.4% |
| Tumble-dryer | 79.3% |
| Dish-washer | 52.1% |
| Refrigerator | 99.7% |
| Freezer | 56.1% |
| Microwave oven | 91.3% |
| Air conditioning unit | 35.8% |
| Land line or cell phone | 98.6% |
| Cell phone | 47.6% |
| Compact disc player | 71.1% |
| VCR | 91.6% |
| Computer | 59.8% |
| Color television | 99.2% |
| Cars | 63.9% |
| Truck or van | 34.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Spending habits in Canada, last available data
| Information technology and communication equipment, per 100 inhabitants | 2006 |
| Telephone subscribers | 117.2% |
| Main telephone lines | 55.5% |
| Cellular mobile subscribers | 61.7% |
| Internet users | 27.6% |
| PCs | 69.8% |
Source: International Telecommunication Union, last available data
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Last updates: September 2010
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