‘Moe Bucks’ and Christmas shopping bring relief for local businesses

Dec 12, 2022 | 4:00 PM

The affordability cheques from the provincial government, colloquially known as Moe Bucks, have been steadily arriving since the middle of last month, and local businesses are noticing a greater willingness from customers to spend money since then.

The cheques, made out for $500 to Saskatchewan residents, have helped fuel consumer spending at a time where spending is naturally high anyway thanks to the Christmas season.

“Originally, when this (affordability cheques) was announced, we said it was going to be great timing,” Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce CEO Patty Hughes said, “because it was going to come out just before Christmas, when we always have a lot of families having that stretch, stretching that dollar. There’s always something coming and Christmas is just that extra time of financial stress, so this is a really good time for it to be coming out.”

Cheques started arriving in mailboxes in mid-November, meaning in some cases it’s been almost a month since people received them. In that time, the chamber is already seeing some of the effects of people having more money.

“What I have had feedback is in regards to people shopping locally,” Hughes said. “A lot of retailers have been quite happy. The shop local campaigns have been very effective. People have really talked about what it means to have that dollar going back into our community and what businesses do support in the community.”

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According to Hughes, some local businesses have noticed Christmas shopping started a little bit earlier than usual, as families try to spread out the financial strain. Other local organizations, like the Salvation Army, have also keenly noticed the difference inflation makes in holiday shopping.

“There are a lot of issues that our local businesses have been dealing with and inflation is one of them,” Hughes said. “Supply chain issues are another, and all the factors that go into that, as well as staffing for Christmas too. There are a lot of labour shortages as well.”

Despite the challenges, however, Hughes said the combination of the money from the provincial government and the increase in shoppers has a lot of local businesses feeling a little more stable.

“The Moe Bucks coming out when they did was really timely,” Hughes said. “It’s definitely coming back into our economy and people are shopping local.”

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP

by Rob Mahon

‘Moe Bucks’ and Christmas shopping bring relief for local businesses

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