TORONTO, 19 December 2011 As Canadians flood malls and online retailers hoping to pick up last-minute gifts for loved ones, the most notorious of all shopping days looms just around the corner. Synonymous with midnight line-ups and bargain basement prices – does Boxing Day still appeal to Canadian shoppers? The answer is ‘yes’ according to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Visa Canada - 23 per cent of Canadians plan on hitting the stores in-person or online this Boxing Day, helping maintain its reputation as one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

For those looking to score great deals from the comfort of home, savvy Canadian shoppers can spend smarter – saving money and time on deals at visaperks.ca. Visaperks offers Visa cardholders exclusive merchant discounts throughout the year with offers on everything from fashion, beauty and accessories to electronics, travel and much, much more.

“Whether looking for something small that wasn’t checked off your wishlist or the chance to treat yourself to that big-ticket item at a discount, Canadians can find great deals at visaperks.ca, and shop with piece of mind knowing that they’re protected by Visa’s layers of security,” said Anne McNeil, Visa Canada.

To Shop or Not To Shop: Select Provincial Results
According to survey results, Canadians are planning to spend an average of $243.30 in stores, and $78.70 online this Boxing Day. At 28 per cent, British Colombia residents are most likely to seek out Boxing Day sales compared to residents in other provinces. Conversely, 81 per cent of consumers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are not planning to shop on the national holiday, opting to take a break from the holiday line ups and crowds. Quebeckers are not far behind, with 80 per cent opting to do other activities to fill the day.

‘Boxing Day Buys for Under $200’
Despite Boxing Day sales happening at most major retailers, Canadians plan to stay conservative with their purchases. Fifty-nine per cent plan to spend less than $200 and only eight per cent of surveyed Canadians reported that they are planning to spend more than $500 this year.

Half of Canadian Shoppers Seek Online Deals this Boxing Day
Online retailers continue to bring extra joy to Boxing Day shopping, allowing consumers to make purchases from home, while the brave head out in the cold in search of door-crasher specials. This year, an estimated 50 per cent of Boxing Day shoppers will spend some of their dollars online, with female Boxing Day shoppers more likely than men to allocate their shopping funds to online purchases (55 per cent vs. 44 per cent). Shoppers aged 55+ are most likely to shop offline, at a bricks and mortar store (72 per cent).

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

About the Ipsos Reid survey
The Ipsos Reid poll was conducted between October 26 and October 28, on behalf of Visa Canada. For this survey, a national sample of 1,175 adults (54 per cent of whom had an online purchase for either a Canadian or American online retailer in the past twelve months) conducted as part of Ipsos Reid’s regular online omnibus poll. For the base sample group (n=1,175), an unweighted probability sample, with 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For the sub-group of online shoppers (n=651), the margin of error would be plus or minus 4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error for any other subgroups would be larger.

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