MONTREAL - As the clock ticks down to Christmas Day, last-minute shoppers crowded stores in Montreal and across Canada in search of those last few gifts to slip under the tree.
According to Canada's largest debit and credit payment processor, Moneris Solutions, the 23rd is typically the year's busiest day in terms of total transactions. But the afternoon of Christmas Eve, between the hours of 1 and 2 p.m. ET, is the most hectic in terms of transaction frequency.
The company estimates that shoppers across the country will be swiping their plastic up to 24,000 times per minute, or 400 times each second. That's approximately double the average.
Reporting from the main shopping strip in downtown Montreal, CTV's Paul Karwatsky says there is definitely a feeling of desperation in the air.
"There is a very noticeable desperation in the air," he said in an interview from St. Catherine Street Friday afternoon.
"People are trying to get their hands on any gifts they can," he added, noting that retailers are revelling in the opportunity to give shoppers whatever they want.
In Toronto, CTV reporter Naomi Parness says she saw a lot of men gift-hunting around the downtown Eaton Centre.
"Obviously, typically it's a lot of men doing their last-minute shopping," Parness said, noting with some surprise that they weren't all in the frantic panic stereotypes would suggest.
"A lot of men are out, they have their lists with them and they're very organized," she said.
Trevor Jamieson calls Dec. 24 "national man shopping day" because stores are crowded with men who don't buy gifts for loved ones until it's almost too late.
"This is the last one on (my) list," Jamieson told CTV after buying a gift at a clothing store in Halifax.
Business was swift, said Jamieson, one of several people who lingered in a check-out line of last-minute shoppers.
Denis Delisle was among them.
"(Christmas Eve) is always my traditional day to shop," Delisle said. "You don't get any boxes for your stuff to put in. It's the worst day to shop but it's how I like doing it."
Because Christmas Day falls on a Saturday this year, many people are off work Friday. That means a little more time than usual for procrastinators and last-minute bargain hunters alike to hit the boutiques.
But even before the registers close on this year's yuletide shopping season, the numbers in the five weeks leading to Christmas show spending up by two per cent compared with last year.
Online shopping led the charge, with an 8.5 per cent increase over the year before. Clothing sales were up too, by almost 6 per cent. But, perhaps belying the frantic pace of the rush to prepare for the holidays, Moneris reports that fast food spending represents the largest increase, with a boost of 18 per cent compared to 2009.
Electronic store sales were down by close to 9 per cent, indicating many shoppers may be holding out for Boxing Day bargains. Music stores saw less traffic too, with sales down more than 13 per cent.
Looking at the country by region, Newfoundland saw the biggest growth among Atlantic provinces with sales up 6.36 per cent, while Saskatchewan led the Prairies with a 4.91 per cent bump. Sales were up 3.8 per cent in Alberta, between 1 and 2 per cent in Ontario and Quebec, and flat in B.C.
The CEO of Moneris Solutions said the numbers indicate a positive swing heading into the new year.
"Despite deep recessionary concerns, the increase in pre-holiday spending is a good indication of renewed consumer confidence and positive ending to what has been a good year for retailers overall," Jim Baumgartner said in a statement.
Moneris, which handles approximately 40 per cent share of credit and debit transactions across the country, bases its data on card transactions at their retailing partners. The numbers do not include cash purchases, or cards processed by other companies.
