Canadians to ho-ho-hold back spending this holiday season

Canadians plan to dedicate an average of $571 to holiday spending — down from $663 in 2007, according to a national retail survey.

Seventy per cent of respondents in the Maritz Research survey released Monday reported they planned to pay for their purchases using cash over debit cards.

"This year, the consumer mood is changing and as a result retailers are facing fiercer competition for a smaller pool of spending dollars," Robert Daniel, managing director Maritz Research Canada, said in a release.

The survey of 2,072 Canadians suggested many consumers would be shopping at big-box stores, including Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire. The margin of error is 2.15 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Claude Bilodeau, an economist with Statistics Canada, said that while the latest retail figures indicate strong consumer confidence, it is too early to forecast how Canadians will spend during the holiday season.

"It would not be the first time that we are not in a bad direction compared to the U.S.," he said. "It [often] happens we follow them, but we [might] be in better shape. We would certainly know … more later if, yes or no, this is right."

Statistics Canada reported Monday that retail sales in September climbed 1.1 per cent from the previous month, the largest increase in eight months.

"I feel it's a very positive signal indicating that Canada still has a good confidence about their own economy, but this is a signal of the confidence that hopefully will stay but I don't know — I can't go further with that," he said.