Three in Four (73%) Online Shoppers Plan to Buy from Canadian Online Retailers This Holiday Season

Toronto, ON - Nearly three in four online shoppers (73%) say they plan to buy gifts from Canadian online retailers this holiday season, according to a new Ipsos poll for PayPal. When it comes to online gift-hunting, buying Canadian is becoming increasingly popular. Four in ten online shoppers (43%) say they'll buy more (15% much/28% somewhat) holiday gifts online from Canadian retailers this year than last, compared to just 7% who say they'll buy less (2% much/5% somewhat). Half (50%) say they'll buy about the same amount as last year. Younger online shoppers are the most likely to say they'll buy from Canadian retailers this holiday season: Eight in ten (83%) Millennials aged 18-34 say they'll buy Canadian, compared to 79% of Gen X'ers aged 35-54, and 60% of Baby Boomers aged 55 and up.

Reasons for buying Canadian are diverse, with a desire to support the economy coming top of the list. More than half (56%) of those who plan to gift-shop online from Canadian retailers this holiday season say it's because they like to support Canadian businesses and the economy. Half (51%) say that it lets them avoid the cost of international shipping, taxes and duties, more than four in ten (44%) hope to avoid unfavourable exchange rates, and three in ten (32%) prefer goods that are `Made in Canada.'

Gifts that Give Back

The survey reveals that Millennials have significantly different attitudes than older generations about gifts that give back, and appear to be more altruistic in their gift giving. For instance, Millennials are the most likely to say they plan on shopping online for this type of gift this holiday season (67% of Millennials say they will, compared to 49% of Gen X'ers and 34% of Baby Boomers).

One in four Millennials (26%) say that knowing a portion of sales are donated to a good cause means they'd buy a product even if it costs more, compared to 15% of Gen X'ers and just 7% of Baby Boomers.

Shopping and Social Media

One avenue for Canadian retailers to consider when planning their holiday gift campaigns is the power of social media. One in four (26%) online shoppers in Canada say they've already shopped online from a Shop Now, Buy It or similar button or from a brand's ad on a social media site - either once (12%) or more than once (13%).

Yet the potential for this type of online sales is much higher: more than half (54%) of online shoppers say they would consider buying an item in this way (12% definitely/42% probably).

Discounts and promotions (56%) are the number one reason that online shoppers say they'd consider buying from social media buttons or ads. Other factors that drive consideration include the product making a good holiday gift (45%), a recommendation from a friend, family member or "someone like me" (34%), or having a history of shopping with the brand before (32%).

Only 7% say that a celebrity recommendation or endorsement of the item or brand would make them consider buying it through social media. That being said, celebrity endorsement seems to improve consideration for Millennials (13%) much more than for Gen X'ers (7%) or Boomers (1%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between October 26 and October 28, 2016, on behalf of PayPal. For this survey, a sample of 1,002 Canadian online shoppers aged 18+ from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian online shoppers aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
(416) 324-2002
Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com