WITH LESS THAN A MONTH TO GO, HALF OF CANADIANS (52%) HAVE NOT STARTED THEIR HOLIDAY SHOPPING...BUT, MOST WILL JOIN THE CROWDS BY THE SECOND WEEK OF DECEMBER

One-quarter of Canadians (5,750,000) admit to `re-gifting'

Toronto, ON- With about a month to go before the holiday, half of Canadians (52%) report to have not yet started their holiday gift shopping according to a Ipsos-Reid/Canadian Tire survey.

The poll also shows that while 36% of Canadians across the country have started their holiday gift shopping, only 6% say they have of completed their shopping.

Of those who have not started yet (52%), most respondents (27%) report that they intend to start shopping sometime in the first two weeks of December, and 14% say they plan to leave their shopping until the week before the holiday. Six percent say they `do not buy/give holiday gifts', or `don't know'.

As for giving gifts, almost all (98%) respondents say that they are likely to give a gift to a family member, and eight-in-ten (79%) will be giving a gift to a friend this holiday season.

The survey also inquired among Canadian pet owners if they would be giving a present to their pet. The findings indicate that of the 68% of Canadians who report having a pet, half (53%) say that their pets will have some unwrapping to do this upcoming holiday.

However, fewer Canadians are likely to give a gift to their boss or their neighbour. Of those who report having a boss (75%), one-third (32%) said they would be giving a gift to them. As for their own back yard, three-in-ten (29%) will be gifting their neighbour this holiday season.

When asked how they would rate their gift wrapping skills, Canadians give themselves a passing grade. Half of Canadians (56%) rate their gift wrapping skills as `good' (34%) or `excellent' (22%). The, almost, other half (44%) rate themselves worse in the paper, bows and tape department, saying there are `adequate' (27%), `poor' (10%) and down-right `awful' (7%).

However, not all gifts are uniquely sought for by gift-givers. A full quarter of Canadians (25%), admit to `re-gifting' where by they have given someone an item that was given to them in the past as a gift.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Canadian Tire poll conducted between November 20, 2001 and November 22, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1000 adult 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 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 statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

With less than a month to go half of Canadians (52%) have not started their holiday shopping

With the holiday season fast approaching, half (52%) of Canadians have yet to start their holiday gift shopping. In total 36% say they have already started, 11% plan to start before December, 27% plan to start sometime in the first two weeks of December, 14% plan to start the week before the holiday, and 6% report to have already finished their holiday gift shopping.

• Younger Canadians are most likely to leave their shopping to crunch time, with one half (51%) of Canadians aged 18-34 saying they will start their holiday shopping sometime in the first two weeks of December (32%) or the week before the holiday (19%). Comparatively, those 55 years or older are least likely to leave their shopping that close to the holiday with one-third (32%-- 18% sometime in the first two weeks of December; 14% sometime in the week leading up to the holiday), saying they intend to start shopping in December. Likewise, those in the younger segment are least likely to say they have already finished (4%) compared to their elders (10%).
• The real last minute shoppers are men. Men are more likely than women to start their holiday shopping in the week leading up to the holiday (19% men; 9% women), and women are more likely than men to say that they have already started (44% women; 28% men).
• Whereas about half (50%) of the respondents in the Atlantic Provinces have `already started', only one-quarter (25%) of those in the province of Quebec are likely to have started their holiday gift shopping.

About half (53%) of pet owners plan to give their pet a present. As for humans, only one-third of Canadians plan to gift their boss (32%) or neighbour (29%)

Overall, almost all Canadians (98%) are likely to give a gift to a family member this holiday season. This is followed by eight-in-ten (79%) who plan on gifting to a friend, and about half (53%) of pet owners planning on giving to their pet. On the lower end of the Christmas lists of most Canadians are bosses (32% of those who say they have a boss) and neighbours (29%).

• In terms of gifting to a friend, Canadians aged 18-34 (87%), those with a university degree (84%), and women (84%) are more likely than those over 55 (73%), men (74%) and those with a high school degree (63%), to give a holiday gift to a friend. Those in Quebec (69%) are least likely to give a friend a gift this holiday season, compared to those in British Columbia (85%), the Atlantic provinces (85%), and Ontario (82%) who say they are likely to give a gift to a friend.
• Of Canadians who have pets (68%), those with a high school education are most likely (63%) to give their pet a holiday gift, as with those living in British Columbia (65%), and the Atlantic Provinces (60%) and women (57%). Those least likely to give a gift to their pet include, those living in Quebec (45%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (44%) and Alberta (40%).
• Younger employees (18-34) are more likely to buy their boss a gift than are older employees (55+) (37% and 25% respectively). Also, employees in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (46%) and Alberta (41%) are most likely to buy their boss a gift, and workers in Quebec are least likely (14%).
• With 70% of Canadians not likely to give their neighbour a holiday gift- the majority of respondents say they are `not likely at all' (54%) to do so. Residents of Quebec are least likely to give a gift to their neighbour (11%), and those in Ontario are most likely (39%), followed by residents in British Columbia (35%) and the Atlantic provinces (34%).

Four-in-ten (44%) give their gift wrapping skills a low grade

Canadians are closely divided on their assessment of their gift wrapping skills, with half saying that they are `good' (34%) or `excellent' (22%), and the other, almost half, saying their wrapping expertise are `adequate' (27%), `poor' (10%) or `awful' (7%).

• Women (68%) are more likely than men (43%) to say their wrapping skills are more than adequate. Whereas 29% of women say their gift wrapping skills are excellent, only 16% of men give themselves the same rating.
• Those between 18 and 34 years old are more likely to give themselves a rating above `adequate' (60%-- `good' (33%) or `excellent' (27%)) than are those 55 or older (48%-- `good' (32%) or `excellent' (16%)).
• Those with a post secondary education are more likely to say their gift wrapping skills are excellent (26%) than are those with less than a high school degree, who are most likely to say that their wrapping skills are `awful' (12%).

One-quarter of Canadians (5,750,000) admit to `re-gifting'

When asked outright if they have `ever re-gifted, that is, given someone an item that was given to you in the past as a gift', one-quarter (25%), or 5,750,000 Canadians said `yes'.

• When it comes to that gift that keeps on giving, women and men have similar `re-gifting' experiences, with 27% of women saying they have given someone an item that was once given to them as a gift, and 23% of men admitting likewise.
• Across the country there does appear to be some variance, however, with one-third (30%) of British Colombians admitting to have `re-gifted', but only 18% of their western neighbours in Alberta admitting as much. Ontarians are also more likely to `re-gift' (30%) than are those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (22%), Quebec (20%) and the Atlantic Provinces (19%).

To view the complete media release and tables, please download the PDF files.

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