A CO' Marketing research report · 2027 edition
Bay of Quinte Consumer Market Report
Who is buying in Belleville, Quinte West, Prince Edward County and Brighton, and where independent businesses can grow in 2027.
- 153,000residents
- 4communities
- 3customer groups
- 13public sources
- 2021Census, to 2026 surveys
The 2027 call
Earned,
not owed.
Shoppers are choosing more carefully this year. That is not a door closing. It puts their spending within reach of any business that gives them a clear reason to choose it.
Advice, a welcome, quality that lasts and a visit worth making are reasons an independent business can offer every day. Local pride adds to them. It works best alongside them.
What the evidence shows
Four numbers behind the call
Baskets are smaller, shoppers will move, goodwill toward Canadian goods is real but priced, and thousands of new neighbours have not chosen a shop yet.
fewer everyday items in the average household basket than a year ago.
National. Numerator, September 2026switched brands in three months to save money. Every switch is a customer who can be won.
National. Angus Reid for Moneris, March 2026would pay more for a non-American product. Most of them would pay up to 10% more.
National. Numerator, September 2025residents added across the four communities since 2022, about 4,600 of them in Belleville.
Local. Statistics Canada estimates, to July 2025
Who is buying
Three groups make up most of every community
Each profile shows where that group lives across the four communities, how it is shopping now, and what it takes to keep and win them.
Midlife Working Families
Stretched, practical, still spending on the kids. The group most willing to trade down when a price crosses the line they have in mind.
Retirees and Older Adults
Loyal to quality, patient about price. They compare, they wait for the sale, and they would sooner wait than take a lesser version.
Professional Newcomers
New in town and choosing on purpose. No local habits yet, so a clear reason to choose you lands before a discount does.
Where they are
Four communities, four different markets
Treat the consumers in your own community as your primary market, and consumers in the other three as potential secondary markets.
Population estimates: Statistics Canada, to July 2025; Prince Edward County to July 2024. Bars are to scale.
What is in it
Four parts, and a checklist at the end
The report opens by scoring last year's calls against the newest evidence, then works from the market to the customer to the community to the plan.
The market in 2027
What households can afford, what they are changing, what they still protect, and where that leaves room to grow.
Who is buying
A profile of each customer group: where they live, how they are shopping now, and how to keep and win them.
Four communities
A page for each: who lives there, what sets that market apart, and three growth openings for an independent business.
What to do in 2027
The positioning the evidence points to, six actions with the finding behind each, and ten questions to check your plan against.
Go further
How to Market Your Business to Canadians Who Want to Buy Canadian (2027)
The report shows that Canadians want to buy Canadian, and that they choose the businesses that give them a meaningful reason. This recorded workshop picks up from there: how to market your business to those shoppers, drawing on the Canada-wide picture.
Free to watch, any time.
Next steps
Read it, then put it to work
The report describes the regional market. Deciding which of those openings fits your business takes a look at your own customers and your own market.
For organizations
Enquire about a presentation of these findings for your members, your board or your staff.
For established business owners
Enquire about a Growth Marketing Strategy and Plan, and talk through your growth priorities for 2027.
About the research
The report covers Belleville, Quinte West, Prince Edward County and Brighton: about 153,000 residents. Figures about each community are local. Figures about shopping behaviour come from national surveys and are marked as national. No source measures local spending directly, and last year's edition covered two full counties, so the figures are not directly comparable.
Local sources
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census and population estimates to July 2025
- Quinte Economic Development Commission, community profile 2026
- City of Belleville housing needs assessment, 2025
- Prince Edward County growth study, 2025
- RTO 9 consumer insights survey, summer 2026
National sources
- Bank of Canada, Q3 2026
- Numerator, 2025 and 2026
- Moneris with Angus Reid, Q1 2026
- RBC Economics, September 2026
- Retail Council of Canada and Leger, 2026
- Ipsos and NielsenIQ, 2026