Consumer spending, known as personal consumption expenditure, is also a primary driver of the industry. It refers to the value of goods and services purchased for or by residents as one of the key factors to measure Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over the past eight (8) years, consumer spending in the U.S. has grown consistently, as seen in Exhibit 6. U.S. consumer spending increased from USD $11 trillion in 2012 to nearly USD $13.5 trillion at the end of 2019, representing a 22.7% increase6. Consumer spending in the U.S. first saw decline in early 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19, a global pandemic, down to 11.8 trillion in early 2020 by 12.6 percent. However, with the government economic stimulus, consumer spending in the U.S later returned to USD $13 trillion. At the same time, Canada’s consumer spending has experienced a similar trend to its neighbour, having grown consistently over the past five (5) years, beginning as low as CAD $0.9 trillion in 2012 and reaching over CAD $1.3 trillion by the end of 2019, representing a 44.4% increase. Likewise, consumer spending in Canada shrunk down to CAD $1 trillion in early 2020 because of the virus, representing a decrease of 23.1% compared with last season, but it has gradually recovered to CAD $ 1.13 trillion.