Canadians Go Christmas Shopping

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of eBay Canada, 43% of Canadians expect to spend the most money on children this holiday season. Thinking of the person they expect to spend the most on, half (51%) of Canadian gift-givers (95% of Canadians give gifts) say they don't know what they plan to buy them. Of those who do know, one-quarter (25%) plan to buy them "clothes" and another one in five (20%) plan to buy "toys." Regardless of whether or not they know what they plan to buy this person, they intend to spend a mean average of $354.88 on them.

Two-thirds (67%) of Canadians receive bad gifts; three in ten (28%) say they don't receive bad gifts, and 5% say they don't receive gifts at all. Of those who do receive bad gifts, nearly one in five (18%) say it's a "friend" who usually gives the worst gift, 16% say "in-laws," and one in ten (11%) say "brother or sister." Of those respondents who do get bad gifts, 76% receive gifts they "really don't like" and on average they receive 2 each year. One-third (33%) of Canadians who receive bad gifts say they "put them in the closet" and a similar proportion (31%) say they "use them anyway."

Asked what they want most this year, one in five (20%) Canadians say they "don't know." Of those who do know, the top responses are "clothes" (12%), "electronics" (10%), and "money" (9%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of eBay Canada between October 14th and October 16th, 2003. The telephone survey is based on a randomly selected sample of 1055 Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of Canadians been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Four in ten (43%) Canadians expect to spend the most money on children this holiday season, two in ten (22%) say they expect to spend the most on their spouse or partner, and one in ten (9%) say Mom is getting the most expensive gift. Less common responses include boyfriend or girlfriend (4%), brother or sister (2%), friend (2%), grandparent (1%), and Dad (1%). Eight percent (8%) of respondents say they expect to spend the most money on another relative, 5% say they don't give gifts, and 3% don't know who they expect to spend the most money on this holiday season.

• Atlantic Canadians (55%) are the most likely to expect to spend the most on children this holiday season, followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (50%), Quebec (46%), Ontario (41%), British Columbia (40%), and Alberta (39%).

• Canadians 35-54 years of age (56%) are more likely than their younger (30%) and older (40%) counterparts to expect to spend the most on children this holiday season.

• Women (54%) are more likely than men (33%) to expect to spend the most on children this holiday season. Men (31%) are more likely than women (13%) to spend the most on their spouse or partner.

• Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater (49%) are more likely than others (41%) to expect to spend the most on children this holiday season. Canadians with an annual household income of $30,000 or greater (26%) are more likely than other (12%) to expect to spend the most on their spouse or partner.

Thinking of the person they expect to spend the most on, half (51%) of Canadian gift-givers (95% of Canadians give gifts) say they don't know what they plan to buy them. Of those who do know, one-quarter (25%) plan to buy them "clothes," one in five (20%) plan to buy "toys," one in ten (9%) plan to buy "electronics," 8% plan to give "money," and another 7% plan to buy "jewellery." The remaining 30% gave less common responses such as "gift certificates" (3%), "video games" (2%), "books" (2%), and "household things" (1%).

• Canadians 35 and older (28%) are more likely than those 18-34 (18%) to be buying "clothes" and Canadians 18-54 (25%) are more likely than those 55 and older (7%) to be buying "toys."

• Women (23%) are more likely than men (15%) to be buying "toys."

Again thinking of the person they expect to spend the most on, Canadian gift-givers intend to spend a mean average of $354.88.

• Atlantic Canadians ($485.43) intend to spend the most, followed by residents of Ontario ($413.99), Alberta ($345.23), British Columbia ($308.12), Quebec ($275.90), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba ($273.40).

• Canadians 35-54 years of age ($396.36) are more likely than their younger ($303.50) and older ($353.50) counterparts to spend the most.

• Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater ($441.44) are more likely than those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 ($333.48) or less than $30,000 ($216.48) to spend the most.

Two-thirds (67%) of Canadians receive bad gifts; three in ten (28%) say they don't receive bad gifts, and 5% say they don't receive gifts at all. Of those who do receive bad gifts, nearly one in five (18%) say it's a "friend" who usually gives the worst gift, 16% say "in-laws," and one in ten (11%) say "brother or sister." Other responses were: "Mom" (9%), "Child/children" (9%), "Grandparent" (7%), "Spouse/partner" (7%), "other relative" (7%), "boyfriend/girlfriend" (2%), "Dad" (2%), and 12% "don't know."

• There are no statistically significant differences among demographic groups for this question.

Of those respondents who do get bad gifts, 76% receive gifts they "really don't like" and on average they receive 2 each year.

• On average, Canadians 55 and older (2.43) and 18-34 (2.20) receive more gifts they "really don't like" than their middle-aged counterparts (1.74).

• On average, Canadians with an annual household income of less than $30,000 (2.38) receive more gifts they "really don't like" than those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 (1.91) and $60,000 or greater (1.99).

One-third (33%) of Canadians who receive bad gifts say they "put them in the closet" and a similar proportion (31%) say they "use them anyway." Two in ten (22%) Canadians who receive bad gifts "give them away," one in ten (12%) "give them to someone else as a present," another one in ten (10%) "return them," 2% "sell them on eBay," 2% "throw them out," and 3% say they "don't know."

• Residents of Quebec (34%), Ontario (33%), and British Columbia (30%) are more likely to put unwanted gifts "in the closet," while residents of Atlantic Canada (40%), Alberta (39%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (38%) are more likely to "use them anyway."

• Canadians 18-34 (36%) are more likely than those 55 and older (21%) to "put them in the closet," while the older adults are more likely than young adults to "give them away" (26% vs. 17%) or "give them to someone else as a present" (15% vs. 8%).

• Women (25%) are more likely than men (18%) to "give them away."

• Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater (25%) are more likely than others (18%) to "give them away."

Asked what they want most this year, one in five (20%) Canadians say they "don't know." Of those who do know, the top responses are "clothes" (12%), "electronics" (10%), "money" (9%), "jewellery" (6%), "trip or vacation" (5%), and "a car" (5%). The remaining 51% gave less common responses such as "nothing" (4%), "good health" (3%), and "family" (2%).

• There are no statistically significant differences among demographic groups for this question.

Please open the attached PDF files to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900