TORONTO — Despite economic uncertainty, Canadian retailers should expect a boost from back-to-school shoppers who plan to spend more or the same during the second busiest shopping season of the year, says a BMO Bank of Montreal report.
About one-third of Canadians are expected to spend at least $200 on back to school purchases this year and they will spend an average of $319, according to a Leger Marketing survey conducted this month for BMO. “For many retail businesses, the back-to-school shopping season is the second most important sales period in the year,” Cathy Pin, vice-president of commercial banking for BMO, said in a news release Monday.
BMO (TSX:BMO) also said that Canadian retail sales were expected to grow at a moderate two per cent in the August-September period.