RBC poll asks the ugly sweater question: what
do Canadians do with gifts they don't like?
Cash-based gifts are popular options this year
TORONTO, December 5, 2012 - Around this time of year,
Canadians may start bracing themselves to receive gifts they
don't like, such as the dreaded tacky sweater. If faced with
this situation, the majority of Canadians (79 per cent) will
smile and thank the gift giver, regift, return the present,
or throw it out, according to an RBC pre-holiday shopping
poll. One-fifth of respondents (21 per cent) said they rarely
face this situation since they make their wish lists known
ahead of time.
"We all want to give and receive gifts that will be
appreciated and enjoyed, yet we've all been faced with some
version of the ugly holiday sweater present," said Anne
Koski, head, Business and Prepaid Cards at RBC. "One
option to avoid the guesswork and the hassles of holiday shopping
is a gift card."
For gift-givers who aren't lucky enough to be provided with
gift suggestions, many choose to give a gift card when they
want to give choice to the recipient (37 per cent), when they're
not sure of what to buy (36 per cent), when they can't decide
on an actual gift (28 per cent), or when they run out of time
(11 per cent).
Cash-based gifts are set to be a popular option this holiday
season with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadians planning
to give gift cards and one-quarter (26 per cent) handing out
cash gifts.
These types of gifts may be an easy way to reduce consumer
frustrations that are often associated with holiday shopping.
While one-in-10 (12 per cent) Canadians surveyed said they
love holiday shopping, the majority list multiple reasons
on how this time of year annoys them, including the following:
- 48 per cent of Canadians surveyed say they are frustrated
by the mall and long lineups
- 44 per cent don't know what to buy
- 33 per cent say they have difficult people to buy for
- 22 per cent have trouble finding the right item (such
as size or colour)
- 25 per cent feel challenged with managing their holiday
budget
- 13 per cent don't have enough time to shop
RBC Visa Gift Cards make holiday gift-giving easier than
ever. Last month, RBC removed most fees on the RBC Visa Gift
Card and announced funds on the RBC Visa Gift card will not
expire. Available in denominations ranging from $25 to $500,
RBC Visa Gift Cards may be purchased at any RBC branch across
Canada. More secure than cash, RBC Visa Gift Cards can be
used anywhere around the world where Visa cards are accepted,
including online, and provide friends and family more options
than traditional store gift cards. Learn more about RBC Visa
Gift Cards at rbc.com/visagiftcard.
About the RBC Poll
The survey was conducted online via Ipsos Reid's national
I-Say Consumer Panel to 3,375 Canadians. The results are based
on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed
to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition
reflects that of the actual Canadian population according
to census data. Quota samples with weighting from the Ipsos
online panel provide results that are intended to approximate
a probability sample. Data collection was October 1 to 10,
2012. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this
size and a 100 per cent response rate would have an estimated
margin of error of ±1.9 percentage points, 19 times
out of 20.
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For more information, please contact:
Ka Yan Ng, RBC Corporate
Communications,
416 974-1794
Matt Gierasimczuk,
RBC Corporate Communications,
416 974-2124
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