The North "Poll": Santa's Approval Rating And Holiday Spending Among British Columbians

Vancouver, BC - Who could disapprove of Santa Claus? According to a new BC Ipsos-Reid poll, slightly more than one-in-ten (13%) British Columbians disapprove of the overall performance of Santa Claus over the last year. Nevertheless, the vast majority (79%) of residents approve of the performance of the man in the big red suit. This places Santa Claus well ahead of British Columbians' views of Paul Martin (61% approval), Jean Chrйtien (57%) and Gordon Campbell (37%).

British Columbians have some solid suggestions for how Santa can help improve his approval ratings. The top three hottest gifts residents want to give or receive this year are cellular phones, video/computer games and video game consoles. Other hot gift items include DVDs, toys and digital cameras.

British Columbians expect to spend an average of $702 on gifts for others this holiday season, slightly below the Canadian average of $761¹. A majority (55%) expects to spend about the same amount as last year, while 24 percent expect to spend less and 19 percent expect to spend more than last year.

"The next week is make or break time for Santa. This is his opportunity to reinforce his core support and bring some of his critics back onside," says Ipsos-Reid Senior Vice-President Steve Mossop. "Besides, how could anyone disapprove of Santa? This could be people still holding a grudge from last year's gifts. Or it could be people with a 'naughty' record over the past year starting to come to terms with the fact that they're about to get a lump of coal. Either way, I'm pretty sure that Santa heard those responding to our poll, and publicly giving him low ratings is not the best way to get back on his good list."

These are the findings of a BC Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between December 1st and 8th, 2003 among a representative cross-section of 800 British Columbian adults. These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual BC population according to 2001 Census data. With a provincial sample of 800, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within 1773.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult BC population been polled. The margin of error will be larger for population sub-groups.

Eight-in-Ten (79%) British Columbians Approve of Santa Claus' Performance Over Past Year

Fully eight-in-ten (79%) British Columbians approve of the overall performance of Santa Claus over the last year. This includes half (52%) who "strongly" approve and 27 percent who "somewhat" approve of Santa's performance.

Meanwhile, slightly more than one-in-ten (13%) residents disapprove of Saint Nick's performance, including eight percent who "strongly" disapprove and five percent who "somewhat" disapprove.

Eight percent of BC residents, perhaps waiting to see what they get for gifts this year, say they are undecided.

Santa's approval rating is consistent across most regional and demographic groups, with the only noticeable difference among those from lower income (

Hottest Gifts This Year Are Cell Phones, Video/Computer Games and Video Game Consoles

With such a high approval rating, Santa may not need any help in selecting gifts this year. But to help the rest of us, Ipsos-Reid asked British Columbians to name the hottest gift item to give or receive this season. Consumer electronics retailers such as Future Shop should do well this year alongside traditional toy and clothing retail outlets, as the top three gifts are cell phones (especially camera phones), video/computer games and video game consoles (especially PlayStation 2 and Xbox). The full top ten list is summarized below.

British Columbians Expect To Spend An Average Of $702 On Gifts This Holiday Season

On average, British Columbians expect to spend $702 in total on gifts for others this holiday season. The biggest spenders are in the Interior/North of the province ($806), while Vancouver Island residents are the most frugal ($590). Residents of the Lower Mainland expect to spend just under $700 this holiday season ($692).

Holiday spending is also heavily influenced by household income. Those with a household income of more than $60K expect to spend more than twice as much as those with incomes under $30K ($939 vs. $449). Middle-income residents ($30-$59K) expect to spend an average of $635 this holiday season.

Majority (55%) Say They'll Spend Same Amount As Last Year; 24% Less - 19% More

The majority (55%) of British Columbians expect to spend about the same amount on gifts as they did last year. However, overall expectations are down slightly from last year, with 24 percent expecting to spend less compared with 19 percent expecting to spend more.

Spending changes relative to last year are more dramatic in BC than in the rest of the country, where 73 percent plan to spend the same and a small proportion plan to spend less (14%), or more (12%).

Younger residents (18 to 34 years) are the most bullish in their intentions this year (33% more vs. 25% less). The most bearish groups include Vancouver Island residents (10% more vs. 27% less), middle/older aged residents (12% more vs. 23% less) and women (19% vs. 28% less).

¹According to an Ipsos-Reid/Moneris Solutions "Holiday Spending" poll, released November 18th, 2003.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Steve Mossop
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
(604) 257-3200
[email protected]