| Canadian Consumers "In Love" With Valentine's Day 66% of Canadians Intend to Give Valentine's Day Cards to their Loved Ones |
Toronto, February 9, 2006 - Canadians are in the mood for love and intend on showering their loved ones with gifts and other tokens of affection this Valentine's Day. According to a new study conducted for Retail Council of Canada by POLLARA, 84% of Canadians intend to recognize a loved one on February 14, 2006.
While the average expected Valentine's Day spending on gifts for others is $92.59 per person, Canadians are more concerned with showing appreciation than with extravagance. At least 66% of Canadians will express their love through cards and special wishes.
"The survey indicates that Canadians are keen to celebrate and recognize all their loved ones on Valentine's Day," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "While the majority of Canadians (84%) plan to give a Valentine's Day gift to their spouse/partner, 43% plan on giving gifts to other family members, including children, which means this holiday is ultimately about nurturing those important relationships in our lives."
"The majority of Canadians intend to stick to the traditional three gifts: cards, flowers and an outing to a restaurant for Valentine's Day," says Robert Daniel, Vice-President, Public Affairs, POLLARA. "Although jewelry and health and beauty spas are on lots of wish lists, the traditional ways to say you care still ring true."
Highlights of the survey include:
Valentine's Day Across Canada
- Canadians between the ages of 35-44 are the most likely to give gifts this Valentine's Day (73%), whereas young Canadians between the ages of 18-24 are the least likely to do so (45%).
- Residents of Quebec are the most likely to give Valentine's Day gifts (65%), while residents of Manitoba are the least likely to give gifts (56%).
- Canadians who are in a fairly new relationship (6 months to 1 year) will spend the most on gifts for their loved one(s) this Valentine's Day ($112), while those Canadians in long-term relationships (10 years or more) will also spend a large amount on gifts ($100).
- Residents of Ontario are the country's biggest Valentine's Day spenders, spending an average of $116 per person, compared to the residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan who will spend the least on gifts ($65 and $60 respectively).
What Canadians Are Buying This Valentine's Day
- Traditional gifts such as cards, flowers and restaurants continue to be popular with the majority of Canadians:
- 66% of Canadians will purchase a Valentine's Day card(s) and will spend an average of $8.95
- 52% of Canadians will buy flowers for this special day and will spend an average of $32.34
- A romantic meal out is a popular option, as 48% intend to go to restaurants spending an average of $66.72
- Of those Canadians who plan to buy Valentine's Day gifts, those buying jewelry will spend the most ($159), followed by restaurants ($67) and health and beauty spas ($61).
- Residents of Alberta and Ontario will spend more money than any other region on jewelry ($280 and $237, respectively).
- Residents of Saskatchewan and Quebec will spend more money on stuffed animals than Canadians elsewhere in the country ($21 in each province, respectively).
The Recipients
- The majority, or 84%, of Canadians plan to give a Valentine's Day gift to their spouse/partner, but giving gifts to other family members, including children is also very popular, ringing in at 43%.
- In fact, 38% of those Canadians who are not in a romantic relationship are still planning on showering those they love with gifts.
Gift Cards
- Less than one-in-twenty (3%) Canadians will purchase an electronic gift card this Valentine's Day.
- Canadians who have been in a relationship less than a year are more likely to buy an electronic gift card than those who have been in a longer relationship.
For detailed research tables, click here or visit www.pollara.ca.
About the Study
These are the findings of a Retail Council of Canada/POLLARA poll conducted from Feb. 1 to Feb. 5, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2,195 adult Canadians was polled through an online omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to ±2.1 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. The actual results of Valentine's Day sales may differ/vary from the intentions stated in these findings.
About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants.
About POLLARA
POLLARA (www.pollara.ca), the largest Canadian public opinion and marketing research firm, helps its clients improve their performance through strategic research designed and analyzed by consultants who are experts in their fields. Drawing on the talents of more than 650 employees located in 6 cities, POLLARA provides a full range of research services to leading global, national, and local companies and to public and non-profit sector organizations.
For more information, contact:
Retail Council of Canada
Stephanie Petroff
(416) 922-0553, ext. 228
E-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org
POLLARA
Robert Daniel
(416) 921-0090
E-mail: rdan@pollara.com