CHAT News File Photo

By Darren Rathwell

City holiday shoppers prefer local gifts in 2021

Dec 23, 2021 | 4:57 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Shop local and shop in-store: a common approach to holiday gift buying in this southeastern Alberta city right now, based on what CHAT News heard today.

The Retail Council of Canada says more than 2,500 Canadians were asked as part of their annual survey about their intended behaviours around the holiday shopping season.

The council said 63 per cent of Canadians were planning to shop in-store holiday completely this year, up from 58 per cent in 2020.

The sentiment of shopping in-store also bore out from the people we spoke to Thursday, on the day before Christmas Eve.

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“Not online shopping?”, we asked three passersby walking together on Second Street SE downtown, with their reply in unison, “No!”

“I support local,” one of the women said, adding, “Absolutely. Especially right now. It’s really dumb right now to do online so I don’t think it helps our community at all.”

When another passerby was asked why she only shopped local this year, she replied, “I love custom work. I like the sentimental part of it for a lot of friends and family. Yeah, I ordered custom things they would enjoy.”

Another passerby said he intended to shop the way he always has for his wife.

“Yep, we both go together sometimes and she shows me (a gift idea), and she gives me a sample of what she wants in jewelry. And when she’s at home baking, I go out and buy it then!”