People wait to enter a bar in Toronto, on April 1, 2022.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
Stiff prices for drinks and the high cost of dining out have caught up with Canadian consumers, leading more people to spend their evenings at home this past spring, according to a new analysis of millions of payment transactions by technology company Square.
In six of Canada’s largest cities, the share of daily transactions made at bars, cafés and restaurants between the hours of 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. shrank during the spring months when compared with the same period in 2022.
In Toronto, for instance, 38 per cent of total spending at establishments from April to June took place at night, down from 41.5 per cent in 2022.
There are other signs consumers are changing their nighttime behaviour in the face of high costs. The latest inflation report from Statistics Canada for August showed that the annual increase in prices for alcohol served at licensed establishments, such as bars and restaurants, slowed sharply over the summer to 2.1 per cent last month from 4.1 per cent in April, as people cut back on their consumption.
The Square analysis also paints a picture of Canada’s top party cities, with Toronto and Calgary boasting the largest share of restaurant, café and bar spending taking place at night.
Surprisingly, the transaction data show that Montrealers had the lowest nighttime share of their spending, with even sleepy government town Ottawa coming out ahead. However, in an e-mail, Ara Kharazian, Square’s research and data lead, said the numbers likely reflect Montreal’s unique spending patterns. The city’s nighttime activity is robust but highly concentrated around the weekend, he said, while people in the other cities seem to balance out their nightlife throughout the week.
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