MOST CANADIANS SAY THEY WILL RESEARCH GIFTS ONLINE BEFORE BUYING

Survey finds Canadians will hit the keyboard before hitting the stores

RICHMOND HILL, ON, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - A new study by Staples Canada and Angus Reid discovered that 76 per cent of Canadians will conduct online research before heading out to shop for gifts in-store. This figure is up more than a quarter (26 per cent) from last year.

"It shows that the average Canadian does some homework before they open their wallet. The Internet is a great resource for learning about products; it's also the easiest way to time and money. If you are typically a last-minute shopper, you can find some great savings by shopping or researching online, while saving some time," said Craig Taylor, vice-president of e-commerce, Staples Business Delivery, Staples Canada. 

While most Canadians will research gift ideas online this year, 91 per cent of people still plan to purchase gifts in-store, once they have completed their Internet research. Staples is bursting with gifts to fit all budgets, and offers several easy ways to shop: including online at www.staples.ca, where purchases of fifty dollars or more receive free delivery. They can also shop at any of 330 conveniently located stores in Canada. The retailer also stands behind their 110 per cent price match guarantee.

Staples has great deals on tech items, such as;

• Enjoy your favourite books whenever, wherever with the Sony Reader Touch Edition. The easy-to-use 6" clear touch screen allows you to turn pages and navigate your book collection with the swipe of a finger. A paper-like display allows for natural reading, even in direct sunlight. Virtual keyboard included for entering quick notes or searching your eBooks.
• Smaller and lighter - the Apple iPod Nano is redesigned for music and Multi-Touch. You can clip it to your sleeve, jacket, or running shorts and keep your favourite songs at your fingertips—along with the Genius feature, a built-in FM radio, pedometer, and more.

(On October 6, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,012 randomly selected Canadian adult Angus Reid Forum panelists. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.)

About Staples Canada

Founded in Toronto in 1991, Staples Canada Inc. is Canada's largest everyday low price supplier of office supplies, business machines, office furniture and business services for the small business and home office customer. The chain operates stores in all provinces across Canada under the banners Staples^® Canada and Bureau en Gros^MC. Marketing Magazine's Marketing/Leger 2009 Corporate Reputation Survey ranked Staples Canada/Bureau en Gros in the top five. The company has over 13,500 employees serving customers through more than 320 office superstores, catalogue, and e-commerce. Staples/ Bureau en Gros is committed to making shopping easy by offering customers three ways to shop: online, by catalogue and in-store. More information is available at www.staples.ca.

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