Go Back-to-School Online with Visa Canada

It feels like yesterday that I was showing off the photos of my daughters’ last day of Grade 2, and here we are again with another school year looming in the near future. Many Canadian parents are all a buzz with Back-To-School shopping. Usually I panic and hit store to store {many times over}, gathering all the items needed for the year. Not this year, I have taken an easier and carefree approach.

First of all, I bought all the needed school supplies online, and many Canadian school offer this option now. After looking at their list and comparing prices in store, the cost was the same. Yet, with the added benefit of not having to go out and shop. This was a major relief for me since I had to go to 3 different stores last year in order to cross the items off the list {the school are very picky, right down to binder color}.

A got a few odds and ends, such as backpacks and lunch bags, which were also bought online. I took advantage of sales and free shipping promos and they were delivered right to my door. That’s another trip to the store not needed, saving time and money in gas.

And then there’s haircuts, all 3 girls needed them before next week. The hairdresser added red streaks to their hair {wash out} and sparkles. Needless to say, this made my children very happy. Yes, they can be won over with sparkles!

Isabelle starts Grade 3 this year and the twins are going into preschool. I thought about back-to-school clothing this year, knowing that was bulk of my spending this time of year. My question was: Why? Why do my kids need a ton of new clothes right now, right on Sept 1st?

After looking through their closet and behind all their Summer attire, I noticed that they have a lot of sweaters, t-shirts, pants and jeans that still fit them. I decided to not join in on the clothing-craze and hold off buying in bulk this week like so many parents do. They really only need one outfit each and Winter boots {gah, I said Winter. I’m sorry}. For the rest of the clothes, I’m going to wait until I see a sale online, and buy items as needed.

Oh, and I also stocked up that pantry with lunch and snack items. Pay no attention to the opened box of snacks in the photo {crumbs on keyboard}, so I might need to re-shop for snack items soon. That can be easily done, right? Doesn’t that seem less stressful?

Visa Canada recently commissioned a survey to learn about the back to school shopping habits of Canadians. These are very interesting results!:

Canadians are expected to spend $677 on back to school shopping with 72% of shoppers planning to do their shopping online.

22% of Canadians said the number one stress reliever during back to school season is shopping online.

Canadians plan to keep the majority of their online spend within Canadian borders (72%) compared to 83% in-store purchases.

Clothing is considered the most important item when getting ready for the new school year (43%), with books trailing behind (26%) and computers and computer-related items at 17%.

Prairie residents plan to spend the most online ($316) with 68% of their shopping to be made at Canadian online retailers.

Canadians are also willing to spend proportionately more ($500+) on electronics including computers, software, tablets and Smartphones.

I’m not surprised that crowds and lineups are the biggest deterrents when it comes to back-to-school shopping, it’s definitely one aspect I dislike the most. Everyones rush to get the same things at the same time causes shortages and that nasty result of hopping from store to store. To eliminate some of the stress associated with this activity, respondents suggested starting early, creating a list to prevent over-spending and to shop online.

When I shop online, I use my Visa {for example: I did with buying school supplies}. It’s a secure way to shop and if anything goes haywire, I know Visa will have my back as they provide protected through Visa’s layered approach to security and fraud prevention, including Verified by Visa (VbV), Zero Liability and E-Promise.

Plus, there’s the added benefit of earning Visa Rewards. Do you know about Visaperks.ca? It’s Visa Canada’s way of making the online shopping experience more enjoyable for Canadians with special offers and exclusive coupons for many favourite stores like Helly Hansen, Adidas, Bath & Body Works, Park ‘N Fly, Bentley and more.

Also new is Visa Debit, which allows Canadian consumers to purchase items with funds drawn directly from their bank account and not a credit account. Myself, I always pay off my Visa every month, yet for those that really like to spend only wheat they have, this isa great option.