TORONTO — A consumer survey by Shoppers Drug Mart and Royal Bank of Canada sheds some light on the differences between women and men in debit card use and the value of rewards programs.
The companies said Tuesday the RBC/Shoppers Drug Mart Poll of more than 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted by Ipsos Reid, found that 76% of women typically carry $50 or less in their wallet, compared with 66% of men.
Men use an ATM up to twice a week (41%) to keep cash in their wallets, while 33% of women said they do so. The poll also found that 28% of women said they rarely or never withdraw cash, compared with 22% of men.
The survey also revealed that 89% of women are part of a rewards program versus 80% of men. And of those women, 83% said their rewards programs are important to them, while 73% of men thought so. In addition, 43% of women indicated that their rewards program memberships are more important to them in the current economic climate, compared with 31% of men.
Shoppers Drug Mart and Royal Bank of Canada in January announced plans to introduce a co-branded banking account and debit card that will offer extra benefits through the retailer’s Shoppers Optimum rewards program. The co-branded debit card is due to launch March 17.
"Canadians love to earn rewards points and this new program merges the convenience of debit with Shoppers Optimum, one of the largest and most popular loyalty card programs in Canada," stated Jim Noteboom, senior vice president of business analytics and financial services at Shoppers Drug Mart. "We are excited to expand upon our current financial services offerings and provide our customers with even greater convenience and reward options."
Among other findings in the poll, 72% of women and 59% of men used debit cards to buy groceries, 54% of women and 36% of men used debit to purchase toiletries, 40% of women and 32% of men buy entertainment with debit cards, and 38% of women and 32% of men buy coffee or lunch with a debit card.
"Canadians still prefer to have some cash on hand, but our survey suggests that women in particular are finding debit to be a more convenient way to pay for their day-to-day purchases," Wayne Bossert, executive vice president of Canadian banking at RBC, said in a statement. "We are increasingly becoming a cashless society. Canadians are recognizing that debit is a convenient way to pay, and now they can earn rewards points on debit purchases that translate into savings."
