TECHNOLOGY AND GIFT CARDS ARE ON THE GIFT LISTS OF MOST CANADIANS

Gift cards, charitable donations and technology are among this year's in-demand gifts

RICHMOND HILL, ON, Dec. 17 /CNW/ - A recent Staples Canada and Angus Reid Public Opinion survey* revealed that 73 per cent of Canadians  plan to buy gift cards during the holiday season, followed by 71% who are considering to buy some sort of tech device.

"A gift card is a great choice because it's convenient for the shopper and allows the recipient to purchase what they want," says Pete Gibel, VP Merchandising, Staples Canada. "Gift cards are great for the small business owner, teacher or relative that lives in another province."

What else can Canadians expect under the tree this year? 71% per cent said they plan to buy technology or personal electronics. Some popular gift ideas:

• The iPod Touch 32GB which allows you to see friends while you talk to them, with FaceTime. Shoot, edit and share stunning HD video, and do it all on the retina display—the highest-resolution screen on any mobile device.
• Be the envy of all your friends with HP's ENVY 17.3 laptop. It has a 1TB hard drive, 6GB memory, HP night vision webcam, full-size backlit island-style keyboard with integrated numeric keypad, and weighs under eight pounds.
• Stand out with Sony's E-Series 15.5 laptop. It comes in a vibrant, glossy green shade, has 4GB memory, 500 GB hard drive, built-in eye-motion camera, and is Energy Star qualified.

It has also been determined that more gifts are moving away from the tree. The survey also revealed that 60 per cent of respondents will consider giving a charitable donation as a gift. "Canadians are very generous, as we have seen during our Staples back-to-school supply drive and Give a Toonie. Share a Dream. campaign," says Gibel. "We were able to meet our financial aspirations during both of these fundraisers, due to our customers continuous generosity!"

Staples sells the latest laptops and accessories, and offers three easy ways to shop: online at www.staples.ca, in-store or by catalogue.

* On October 6, 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,012 randomly selected Canadian adults who are 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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