Holiday Gift Giving A Chore For Many

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid/MasterCard survey, most holiday gift givers in Canada (60%) do not enjoy shopping during the holidays, with many pointing to the "crowds in malls or shopping centres" (39%) and the difficulties of "finding the right gift or not knowing what to buy" (32%) as the most stressful aspects of holiday shopping.

And, when holiday gift givers are asked to choose from a list of holiday shopping conditions, which one they find the most physically exhausting, half (48%) point to "dealing with crowds", 20% point to "all of the walking around", 17% point to "the heat from being in a crowded mall or shopping centre", and 6% point to "carrying too many heavy parcels".

When asked what gifts they would most like to receive from their family or friends, one in five holiday gift givers (22%) say they "don't know". Among those gift givers who do know what they want to receive the responses are varied: 19% point to "clothing/footwear/accessories"; 9% point to "appliances/house wares"; 8% point to "home/personal electronics" (e.g. computer, TV, stereo, etc); 7% point to "money/cash", 7% point to "visit/spend time together", and another 7% point to "books/magazines". All other responses were cited by fewer than 5% of respondents.These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/ MasterCard poll conducted from October 28tht to November 1st and from November 5th to November 7th, 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians were interviewed by telephone. 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 adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Most Holiday Gift Givers (60%) Say They Do Not Enjoy Shopping During The Holidays...

Six in ten holiday gift givers (60%) say "no" they do not enjoy shopping during the holidays - while 40% say "yes" they do enjoy shopping during the holidays.

• Holiday gift givers in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (46%) are the most likely to say they do enjoy shopping during the holidays, followed by those Atlantic Canada (43%), Ontario (42%), British Columbia (41%) and Alberta (41%), and Quebec (33%).

• Holiday gift givers aged 18-34 are significantly more likely than those age 35 and over to say they enjoy shopping during the holidays (48% vs. 36%).

• Holiday gift giving women are more likely than men to say they enjoy shopping during the holidays (45% vs. 34%).

Many Holiday Gift Givers Say "The Crowds" (39%) And "Finding The Right Gift" (32%) Are The Most Stressful Things About Holiday Shopping...

When holiday gift givers are asked to choose from a list of possible frustrations, which one they find the most stressful about holiday shopping - "the crowds in malls or shopping centres" (39%) and "finding the right gift or not knowing what to buy" (32%) are their top mentions. One in ten holiday gift givers mention "budgeting" (13%) and "finding a parking spot" (10%) as the things they find most stressful about holiday shopping, while 4% say none of these are the most stressful.

• Holiday gift givers aged 18-54 are significantly more likely than those aged 55 and over to say they find "the crowds in malls or shopping centres" to be the most stressful thing about holiday shopping (43% vs. 31%). On the other hand, holiday gift givers over the age of 55 are significantly more likely than those aged 18-54 to say that "finding the right gift or not knowing what to buy" is the most stressful thing about holiday shopping (40% vs. 29%).

• Holiday gift giving men are more likely than women to say "finding a parking spot" is the most stressful thing about holiday shopping (13% vs. 7%).

Half Of Holiday Gift Givers (48%) Feel "Dealing With Crowds" Is The Most Physically Exhausting Aspect Of Holiday Shopping...

When holiday gift givers are asked to choose from a list of holiday shopping conditions, which one they find the most physically exhausting, half (48%) point to "dealing with crowds". One in five holiday gift givers (20%) point to "all of the walking around" as the most physically exhausting part of holiday shopping, 17% point to "the heat from being in a crowded mall or shopping centre", and 6% point to "carrying too many heavy parcels". One in ten holiday gift givers (9%) find "none of the above" to be the most physically exhausting part of holiday shopping, while 1% "don't know" what is most physically exhausting about holiday shopping.

• Holiday gift givers in British Columbia (55%) are the most likely to say that "dealing with crowds" is what is most physically exhausting about holiday shopping, followed by those in Alberta (54%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (53%), Atlantic Canada (48%), Ontario (47%), and Quebec (42%).

• Holiday gift givers age 18-54 are significantly more likely than those age 55 and over to say that "dealing with the crowds" is what is most physically exhausting about holiday shopping (54% vs. 36%).

• Holiday gift giving men are more likely than women to say "all of the walking around" is the most physically exhausting part of holiday shopping (26% vs. 15%), while women are more likely than men to point to "the heat from being in a crowded mall or shopping centre" (21% vs. 11%).

Two In Ten Holiday Gift Givers (22%)Don't Know What Holiday Gifts They Would Like From Family And Friends...

During the survey, those Canadians who plan on exchanging holiday gifts this year were asked what gifts they would "most like to receive from their family or friends ?" Two in ten (22%) respondents say they "don't know". For those who do have a holiday wish list, the responses are varied:

• 19% point to "clothing/footwear/accessories";

• 9% point to "appliances/house wares";

• 8% point to "home/personal electronics (eg. Computer, TV, stereo, etc.);

• 7% point to "money/cash";

• 7% point to a "visit/spend time together";

• 7% point to "books/magazines";

• 4% point to "CDs/Music";

• 4% point to "Gift certificates (unspecified)";

• 4% point to "Jewerly";

• 3% point to "Cosmetics/toiletries/personal goods";

• 3% point to "Food/candy";

• 2% point to "home made presents";

• 2% point to "vacation/travel/getaway";

• 2% point to a "car/motorcycle";

• 2% point to "entertainment (eg. Movies, tickets);

• 2% point to "giftware (eg. China, glass, pottery, etc)";

• 2% point to "sports equipment"; and

• 2% point to "services (i.e. pedicure/spa, etc).

One in ten holiday gift givers (11%) point to some "other" gift as the one they would most like to receive from their family or friends, and 6% want "nothing" from their family and friends.

• No demographic trends are apparent with respect to this question.

Please open the attached PDF 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