Regardless of one's opinion of the commercial aspect of Christmas, the simple truth is the holiday season is one of the most important revenue streams for retailers and the service industry. A 2017 Statistics Canada report showed that Canadian consumer spending in a month-to-month comparison spikes by as high as 203 per cent for items such as games – including video games – and hobby supplies in December. Food an beverage sales represent the highest overall dollar value of spending at $5.1 billion compared to the monthly average of $4.3 billion. Canadians aren't stingy when it comes to Christmas, in 2017 PriceWaterhouseCoopers reported that Canadians were expected to spend and average of $1,500 on Christmas gifts and supplies. That kind of spending is a boon for Canadian businesses and for smaller, independent retailers, Christmas can carry them through those less busy months. With competition from city businesses and online retailers, Cochrane businesses must battle for a piece of that spending pie, which is crucial to their survival. Residents here are lucky to have such a variety of shopping options that includes specialty boutiques and big name stores that combine to offer items on almost any Christmas list. Recognizing the importance of holiday shopping and community business, the Town of Cochrane has set out to help Cochrane retailers stand out this holiday season as part of its shop local initiative. In conjunction with Cochrane Light Up, the official kick off to the Christmas season in the community, the town will be releasing its new holiday Gift Guide featuring local inspirations from many unique small and home-based businesses. The guides will be handed out at the Town of Cochrane's Light Up booth as part of holiday gift bags that will be chock-full of coupons, information flyers and a few small samples. Light Up itself is a boon to downtown businesses, by bringing thousands down for the unique family event and drumming up interest in the multitude of gift ideas we have in town. With the economic downturn the province has been digging its way out of over the past few years, we have seen many businesses close their doors. While this is no consolation to those business owners, Cochrane has been fortunate to have experienced a year-after-year net increase in business licenses. Many of those new businesses are home-based, which is a demonstration of our province's reputation for entrepreneurship and innovation. It's no secret that shopping options, especially when online retailers are factored in, are innumerable and, though we can't tell people where to shop, we encourage Cochrane residents to consider shopping local this holiday season as much as possible. When our business community thrives, we all thrive.
