Christmas shopping: Islanders juggle taxes and Canada Post

On December 24, many people rushed to stores to finish their Christmas shopping, a special tradition for this year, where the Canada Post strike and the temporary GST/HST holiday have disrupted the habits of buyers and sellers.

It's 9 a.m. Tuesday and it's already opening time at the toy store Owls Hollowlocated in the commercial area of Charlottetown. It's the big day when customers should flock to the shelves.

Fun, festive, frantic. We have had a lot of people in the store in recent weeks, more with the changes this year linked to the temporary tax holiday and the strike at Canada Postexplains the sales manager, Emily Brenden.

These events have disrupted the habits of island businesses. Emily Brenden assures that there was a before and an after leave of TPS/HST.

Clients had this holiday in mind. They asked which products were eligible and purchased based on that.

Postal strike plunges online sales

Since November 15, sales in certain businesses have not been as before. The strike at Canada Post has seriously disrupted the economy of many local retailers.

Lauren Krieg is co-owner ofIsland Lavender Distillery. In particular, she runs a store in Founders Hallin downtown Charlottetown. She explains that she tried to circumvent the strike to maintain the level of her online activities, but without success.

We changed our deliveries from Canada Post to UPS, but the cost has increased. These additional costs, in addition to the risk of not receiving packages on time, have reduced online sales.

Other stores have made an even more radical choice. The owners of the clothing store The Original P.E.I. Dirt Shirt have decided to stop all their sales on the Internet. The costs incurred for delivering products with another company were too high.

We deliver our products with Canada Post. When the strike started, we just stopped taking orders. The cost of the products with delivery was too high for them. As a result, we have not made any online sales since November 15explains Suzanne Whitesales manager at The Original P.E.I. Dirt Shirt.

Consumers and traders must adapt

Despite everything, some traders were able to count on the support of the islanders. Many people have decided to favor local businesses to the detriment of Internet purchases.

I have been doing the majority of my Christmas shopping in local businesses since the start of the Canada Post strike. Usually, I support the island's artisans, but even more this yearexplain Ryan Geddinga family man.

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This is a relief for these traders who were able to limit financial losses. For the moment, our Christmas sales are good, it is comparable to last yearexplain Lauren Krieg of Island Lavender Distillery.

The postal strike will leave its mark on traders, but also among the islanders. For Diane MacDonaldan islander originally from Stratfordnext year's Christmas shopping will be done without the postal service.

If I had known about this strike I would have thought twice before ordering onlineshe explains.

Like her, many Canadians won't have all their Christmas presents under the tree unless Santa performs a miracle.