Business - Business News

POSTED: Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

Whatcom County could see more Canadians this holiday season

As local retailers ponder Black Friday and the holiday season, it's worth noting that our stores may see more Canadian shoppers this year.

With the current state of the U.S. and Canadian economies, consumers are expected to be more budget-conscious. During the holidays that may mean looking for the best deal, and there are several trends to indicate more Canadians may find them here:

A stronger Canadian dollar: Last week the loonie was hovering around 94 cents compared to the U.S. dollar, which is up from 77 cents a year ago. The Canadian dollar has been above 90 cents since July, so those shoppers are certainly aware of their currency's strength. It may not be generating the buzz of two years ago, when the Canadian dollar zoomed past par into the $1.05 range, but historically when it gets this high, it provides real value for Canadians so Whatcom County retailers see more British Columbia license plates in the parking lots.

Border traffic on the rise: In October there were 931,462 people who traveled southbound through Whatcom County border crossings, a 13.3 percent increase compared to October 2008, according to data gathered by Western Washington's Center for Economics and Business Research. Ever since the Canadian dollar rose above 90 cents in July, the border traffic has been higher compared to the same period in 2008.

Canadian shoppers' confidence is lower: The TNS Canadian Facts consumer confidence index was at 95.5 earlier this month, down from 98 in September and 99.2 in August.

The report also mentioned that six in 10 Canadians plan to spend the same amount as they did last year, while about one-third plan to spend less and just 8 percent plant to spend more this year.

We won't know what that means until after the season is over, but if Canadian shoppers stick to what they are saying, it could mean that they either cut down on gift-purchases or they spend more energy looking for deals.

Perception of better deals in U.S.: This is purely anecdotal evidence on my part, but when I've talked to Canadians who are standing outside a Bellingham store at 4 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving for the past five years, they've consistently mentioned how much lower U.S. store prices are for certain products, particularly in electronics, appliances and books. A quick look at reader comments in Canadian newspaper stories about the upcoming holiday season also shows some of this sentiment.

It is certainly easy for Canadian shoppers to figure it out ahead of time. With so many Web sites dedicated to spilling the beans when it comes to Black Friday sales, a savvy Canadian shopper can find out in a few minutes what the U.S. and Canadian prices are for any product they are looking for and calculate whether it's worth the trip to Whatcom County.

Perhaps a key indicator of the holiday shopping season will be this Friday. National retailers have been pushing hard with this event, talking about the sales earlier this year than last year. We'll see what the early morning hours of Nov. 27 brings to Whatcom County.