Consumer Spend Trend: Gas Prices and Transit in Canada

If you were thinking of buying a bicycle, now’s a good time.

Gasoline prices have skyrocketed in the last couple of months and refuse to go down, peaking at over $1.80 per litre in early March. But how did this increase impact consumer spending?

Our Moneris^® data reveals that as gas prices hit new highs, the cost to top-up the tank in Canada grew by 25% when compared to the same period the year prior. Specifically, at unattended self-serve stations, Canadians spent $66.64 on average to fill up, compared to $52.97 last year. Meanwhile, at gas stations with additional services like convenience stores, Canadians spent $46.38 on average, up from $37.01 the year before.

Despite paying more, drivers aren’t filling up less frequently, as many Canadians depend on their car for day-to-day travel. While you might expect the number of transactions to decrease in response to higher prices, we saw transaction count increase by 5% year-over-year. However, the tepid increase in the number of transactions isn’t out of the ordinary when compared to the growth rate in transactions across all merchant categories.

With offices slowly resuming in-person operations, those who commute to work by car might opt to work from home a little longer to avoid paying for gas. On the flip side, alternate forms of transit have seen a tremendous increase year-over-year, likely spurred on by a mix of businesses re-opening, March break holidays, and yes, potentially higher gas prices. 

• For Passenger Railways, transaction growth was up 221%
• For Buses, transaction growth was up 154%
• For Local Passenger Transit, transaction growth was up 127%
• For Taxis and Limos, transaction growth was up 37%

Interested in learning more about consumer purchase behavior to help grow your business? Explore Moneris^® Data Services.

Disclaimer: This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed.