Exhaustion and Lack of Time Mean Sacrifice is the New Norm for Canadian Parents

There isn’t enough time and energy to juggle everything, according to Canadian parents, and the struggle to balance it all has given way to a national phenomenon of ‘parental sacrifice.’ A new survey by Mastercard reveals the overwhelming majority of Canadian parents (94%) make personal sacrifices to manage all of life’s demanding priorities. And a majority of parents (56%) regularly seek out innovative ‘life hacks’ to gain back personal time. Masterpass, Mastercard’s digital payment solution, offers one life hack that saves time at checkout, taking some of the struggle out of everyday life.

Bloggers and busy moms Ceri Marsh and Laura Keogh of Sweet Potato Chronicles are putting Masterpass to the test this holiday season. “We do a lot of running around and are constantly juggling it all; it’s often a struggle to keep all the balls in the air,” says Marsh and Keogh. “Anything like Masterpass that gives us time back is a lifesaver – those few minutes are the difference between making pick-up on time or not.”

Knowing that parents see exhaustion as the new norm and 90% report feeling constantly tired, the Masterpass survey looked at what the top time-wasting activities for Canadian parents are and which activities they are sacrificing:

The top time suckers for Canadian parents:

• Meal preparation (21%)
• Doing the laundry (12%)
• Finding a parking spot (19%)
• Gift buying (11%)

The top activities Canadian parents are sacrificing:

• Time alone (53%)
• Time with friends (39%)
• Time with their partner (49%)
• Personal grooming (31%)
• Working out (42%)
• Time with the kids (21%)

With 92% of Canadian parents indicating they are looking to get back time, Masterpass can help as it eliminates everyday distress, giving parents time back – one purchase at a time. And what would Canadians do with time back? Many would spend time alone (24%), take time to be with their partner (24%), work out (13%) and connect with friends (12%).

“As a working dad myself, I appreciate the things that make life just that much easier,” said Jason Davies, Vice President of Digital Payments, Mastercard Canada. “Masterpass is a secure digital payment solution for faster, more convenient shopping that stores and manages all your credit, debit and prepaid  cards in one place, plus remembers all your shipping information. It’s a payment solution that gives you back time for the things that matter.”

Given the battle to regain lost time, it’s not surprising that Canadians are keen to embrace digital solutions and innovation that make life easier, seeking out helpful life hacks, tips and tricks. One way to do that is to bypass time-consuming and frustrating checkout processes by using Masterpass with key merchants:

• HonkMobile helps find and pay for a parking spot directly from the app. No frantic dashes back to the meter in the middle of the school play again!
• PizzaPizza.ca with Masterpass means even easier ordering of pizza with one hand while carrying a hockey bag in the other – and getting home just in time for the pizza to arrive.
• Indigo.ca enables you to cut down on gift buying time and hassle using Masterpass to make check-out and delivery fast, simple and secure.

Since its introduction in 2013, Masterpass has rapidly grown, with thousands of merchants around the world accepting the digital payment solution. In Canada, new merchants HonkMobile, Pizza Pizza and Indigo join thousands of other Canadian merchants accepting Masterpass. Additional Masterpass retailers include: Lowe’s, Roots, London Drugs, 1-800 Flowers, Grand and Toy, Cineplex, Newegg, Wagjag, Via Rail, Tricolore, HMV and WestJet Vacations on mobile. For more information on Masterpass, and a list of featured merchants, please visit www.masterpass.ca.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry.  We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.  Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.  Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

Methodology:

From 2 to 3 November, 2016 Maru/Matchbox conducted an online survey amongst a sample of 1512 Canadian parents who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The survey length was approximately 2 minutes and the sample was balanced by gender and region in Canada. The margin of error on the full base– which measures sample variability– is +/-2.52%. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.