Think the loonie’s plunge over the past year has sucked the wind out of a record boom in the number of Canadians crossing the border to shop for better deals?
It’s hardly dented the trend.
New research from BMO Capital Markets published Wednesday shows same-day traffic is off a meagre seven per cent this year from last year’s record-setting pace.
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The loonie has slipped more than 11 per cent against the U.S. dollar through 2013 and mid-August, effectively blunting much of the savings Canadians can net from heading south — especially when higher gas costs are considered.
But Canadian cross-border shoppers have barely flinched.
“The sag in the Canadian dollar over the past 18 months has taken some of the steam out of cross-border shopping, but only some,” Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter said.
Record low U.S. visitors
There’s been 55 million Canadian visits to the U.S. over the past 12 months – or nearly three times the number of Americans who crossed into Canada over the same time to spend some cash.
Moreover, that’s the fewest number of American visits to Canada in a given 12-month period on record, BMO says.
Experts like Mr. Porter suggest as much as $20 billion is now spent annually by Canadians visiting U.S. outlet stores, malls, restaurants, airports and other U.S. businesses.
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