Jeff Doucette had a choice to make for his mother’s Christmas gift this year. He could buy her a book or a Beatles t-shirt online, ship it to her home in Halifax, and call it done. Or he could take her to see Paul McCartney perform live in Montreal.
The decision wasn’t even close.
“The alternative would have been a book or a shirt from Amazon — I would have spent just as much money, but the perceived value to her is enormous,” said Doucette, who runs Field Agent Canada, a consumer research firm.
That choice reflects a broader shift reshaping Canadian holiday shopping in 2025. New research from Lightspeed Commerce reveals 43 per cent of Canadians plan to buy fewer gifts this season, while 38 per cent are choosing more affordable options. But they’re not simply cutting back — they’re becoming more deliberate about what they buy and why.
The numbers tell a story of conscious consumption. Nearly half of Canadian shoppers say festive store decorations and holiday music encourage them to browse longer, suggesting that the shopping experience itself has become as important as what they ultimately buy. Another 31 per cent are spreading their purchases over time, abandoning the frantic last-minute rush that has defined holiday shopping for decades.
This shift reflects what Doucette calls “the monetary destruction of gift giving” — the growing awareness that a $120 gift might hold only $60 of perceived value for the recipient. “The care is directly linked to resources,” he explains. “Consumers are being more deliberate — they won’t waste money on things that will be gone in a couple of days.”
The solution, according to Doucette, lies in experiential gifts that create lasting memories. “You actually lose value creation through gift giving in a lot of cases if people don’t get what they want,” he notes. Instead, consumers are gravitating toward experiences. “The board game isn’t the experience — it’s the emotional connection you create while playing. You might spend $40 on Monopoly, but you’re buying a lifetime of family memories.”
This behavioral transformation is showing up in retail performance data across the country. “Shoppers say they’re buying fewer gifts but prioritizing experiences, and it’s showing up as longer dwell times, higher attachment rates, and a shift to fewer, better purchases,” said Michael Ganci, General Manager of Retail at Lightspeed Commerce, which provides technology to more than 168,000 businesses globally. “In stores using Lightspeed, we see that engaged time can offset lower item counts when retailers bundle, cross-sell, and make checkout frictionless. The winning formula is experiential merchandising, offer clarity (bundles, add-ons, gift wrap), and fast fulfillment. That’s how dwell turns into dollar-per-visit.”
The trend appears strongest in Canada’s largest cities. In Toronto, 77 per cent of consumers plan to keep their holiday spending local this season, part of a broader national pattern where 79 per cent of shoppers intend to buy domestically. “Atlantic Canada is out front on shopping locally, but Ontario and Toronto specifically aren’t far behind,” Ganci said. “We’re seeing a strong local-first mindset in the GTA. The drivers are value, convenience, and loyalty: shoppers believe local retailers price fairly, they’re nearby, and they know the community.”
But the local shopping trend comes with authenticity challenges that retailers are struggling to navigate. Doucette points to growing consumer frustration with “major brands placing Canadian flags on products and claiming to be the ‘most preferred Canadian brand’ when they’re actually not Canadian — not manufactured in Canada, not owned by a Canadian company.”
The scrutiny extends to genuinely local businesses. “The ‘shop local’ mentality becomes interesting when you examine whether retailers are actually producing or selling local products,” Doucette observes, citing eyewear retailers where long-established community businesses may stock exclusively international products due to limited Canadian manufacturing capacity.
For retailers, the challenge becomes creating authentic experiential value while managing the operational reality of consumer expectations. “Seeing festive décor and hearing holiday music isn’t just ambiance; it’s a sales lever,” Ganci explained. “When 46% of Canadians tell us they spend more time in-store under those cues, it signals that physical retail in 2025 wins by staging experiences, not just stocking shelves.”
However, many retailers are trying to create these experiences while struggling with fundamental service gaps. Chris Parsons, author of “Retail Rewired: How Modern Retail Leaders Drive Growth and Reinvention” and VP of Partner Growth & Marketing at Hale, sees this as a critical mistake. “Many retailers are using points and promotions to cover experience gaps. Customers want confidence, not gimmicks. They want to know the price is the best of the season. They want a simple price match window so buying early doesn’t feel risky. That reassurance matters far more than another points multiplier.”
The service issues are visible everywhere, according to Parsons. “You see it in the long lines at the few cashiers still open, and you hear it in the frustration at self checkouts where no one seems happy. You notice it when shopping carts are scattered around parking lots instead of ready at the entrance. These moments stick with customers long after they leave the store.”
For Toronto retailers specifically, Ganci recommends “investing in sensory design, guided discovery (think curated gift tables and demo moments), and staff-led clienteling. We’re seeing retailers pair this with data-informed floor sets and mobile POS to convert that longer dwell time into bigger baskets.”
Successful examples of authentic experiential retail do exist. Doucette points to Miss Vicky’s partnership with wine producers for elevated “date night at home” experiences. “They positioned themselves as an upmarket chip with sophisticated, adult flavours. They transformed from a throwaway snack into something purchased for specific occasions.”
The behavioral changes are also forcing retailers to rethink promotional strategies that have defined holiday shopping for years. Traditional calendars built around deep discounts and doorbuster deals are losing effectiveness as consumers spread their purchases across months rather than concentrating them around Black Friday and Boxing Day.
“Two realities define this season: it starts earlier, and people spread purchases over time,” Ganci explained. His recommendations represent a fundamental shift from traditional retail thinking: “Pull demand forward with October-November wishlists, preorders, and deposit invoices; convert browsers into buyers with gift cards and buy-now-use-later services. Run smaller, smarter promos that ladder up, such as member-only previews, basket-builder bundles in early November, and targeted Black Friday offers that reward loyalty rather than blanket markdowns.”
The pressure to optimize quarterly performance, however, creates strategic blind spots that work against these longer-term approaches. “The data is a warning sign retailers can’t ignore. If mindful, spaced out purchasing is going to deepen in 2026, then squeezing the holiday quarter for every last dollar comes with a real cost,” Parsons warns. “Heavy promotions rarely create new demand. They pull sales forward. Retailers celebrate a strong November, then watch the next few months soften because customers simply pantry loaded.”
This promotional arms race has particularly undermined traditional holiday shopping events. Even Black Friday shows signs of consumer fatigue. Field Agent research found shoppers don’t want Christmas displays until November 12th on average — a significant shift from retailers’ eagerness to launch holiday marketing immediately after Halloween.
“Consumers are exhausted by the time Boxing Day arrives,” Doucette said. “They’ve been dealing with holiday marketing for 56 days, maybe more. Black Friday may not be generating the excitement it once did — it’s become one giant blur of sameness.”
Parsons agrees that the constant promotional messaging has backfired. “Retailers may already be too late this season to win customers back without deeper discounts, mostly because shoppers were trained to expect them. When early Black Friday runs all month, people stop believing the price they see is the lowest. They wait, they compare, and they hold out for something that feels real.”
The decline has undermined what once made these events special. “What made Black Friday exciting years ago wasn’t only the deal. It was the limited quantities, the real doorcrashers, and the treasure hunt feeling. When everything is on sale all month and the in person experience feels neglected, nothing feels special,” Parsons explains.
Meanwhile, the shift toward experience-focused consumption is driving changes in how Canadians approach holiday celebration itself. Doucette’s research shows increased spending on home entertaining this season, as consumers choose to invest in hosting rather than giving traditional gifts.
“More consumers are investing in entertaining at home — this ties directly into the experience trend,” he explained. “The sentiment is ‘we’re going to invite people over and that’s how we’ll celebrate.’ There’s significant uncertainty in the broader environment, so people are choosing to hunker down at home. Home entertaining represents something consumers can control — it gives them agency in how people experience the holidays despite external pressures.”
For retailers managing both local and online channels, the transformation requires organizational changes that many struggle to implement. Parsons argues that internal channel conflicts miss the point entirely. “There really shouldn’t be channel conflict at all. Customers shop with a brand, not a channel. They don’t wake up hoping ecommerce gets credit for the purchase or choosing a store visit so the store team wins the sale. They buy in whatever way fits their day.”
Looking ahead, all three experts expect these patterns to intensify rather than fade. “We don’t see this as a blip,” Ganci said. “The Black Friday reset has effectively replaced Boxing Day for more than half of Canadians, and shoppers now plan, stack discounts, and buy earlier. Expect 2026 to deepen mindful shopping with earlier consideration, higher standards for value, and durable loyalty to retailers who are transparent on price and strong on experience.”
The solution, according to Parsons, requires retailers to balance immediate quarterly pressures with longer-term customer relationship building. “If retailers are going to lean on loss leaders, they need a real plan to turn those moments into long term value. Clean onboarding, strong follow ups, and reasons to return. The retailers who balance the quarter with the long game, who simplify the journey and invest in service, are the ones who grow with the customer instead of chasing them.”
Success will ultimately depend on getting the fundamentals right. “The retailers who win this season will pair fair pricing with service that feels consistent and thoughtful. That combination still builds trust, even in a deal heavy environment,” Parsons concludes.
As Doucette reflected: “This isn’t just about holiday shopping — it’s about how people are rethinking what they value and how they want to spend their time and money. The retailers who understand that are going to be the ones who thrive.”
Dustin Fuhs is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail, Toronto’s premier source for retail and hospitality industry news. As the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication, Dustin brings over two decades of expertise spanning retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality sectors. His experience includes leadership roles with industry giants such as The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Recognized as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025, Dustin delivers insider perspectives on Toronto’s evolving retail landscape, from emerging brands to established players reshaping the city’s commercial districts.