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Canadians Ring U.S. Cash Registers

 Business First - by James Fink

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

 American retailers, especially those in border communities like the Buffalo Niagara region, were singing “O Canada” with good reason.

A report by Visa Inc. found that Canadian shoppers in the U.S. continued to rise last year. Use of Visa credit cards at American stores rose 18 percent. Canadians, for the third consecutive year, topped all foreign shoppers who use Visa cards in the U.S.

Canadians used their Visa cards for $9.2 billion worth of purchases last year, up from the $7.8 billion they spent in the U.S. in 2009.

“Personally, I’m not surprised,” said John Ecklund, Walden Galleria general manager.

The Walden Galleria, the region’s largest shopping center, has a significant number of Canadian shoppers.

“This year alone, we’ve seen a huge increase in Canadian shoppers,” Ecklund added.

Canadians were less impacted by the global recession and, with the loonie now worth $1.05 to the U.S. dollar and expected to rise through-out the year, Ecklund said he anticipates seeing even more shoppers from the land of the Maple Leaf making their way across the border. At $1.05, the loonie was at its highest mark against the U.S. dollar since late 2007.

“Canadian tourists continue to have a positive impact on the U.S. tourism economy,” said William Sheedy, Visa Inc. president, in a prepared release. “The strong willingness and desire of Canadians to travel across the southern border reinforces the importance of the North American tourism industry to the region’s continued economic growth.”

Canadians were not alone in spending more in the U.S., according to Visa Inc.

The credit card agency said United Kingdom tourists used their Visa cards 11 percent more in the U.S. last year, charging some $2.5 billion at retailers while Mexican visitors charged 18 percent more on their Visa cards, with total purchases topping $2 billion.

Japanese consumers charged $1.8 billion on their Visa cards, a 6 percent increase and Chinese tourists charged 64 percent more on their Visa cards, totaling $1.1 billion.