DeGroote business prof estimates Christmas market worth $35B

It’s the busiest shopping season of the year, with Christmas just over a month away.

Marvin Ryder of the DeGroote School of Business tells us just how much Canadians are expected to spend.

“My question this year is, ‘Will Christmas cross a thousand dollars a person’? That means Christmas spending in Canada is worth $35 billion.”

“That season really kicks off now, it began November 1, few people upset because of Remembrance Day yesterday but now that Remembrance Day is behind us, it’s the Christmas selling season. Expect the shoppers to be out in full force.”

Ryder says the number one gift for 2014 is gift cards. He says of the $35 billion, 10 per cent of it will be spent on gift cards.