When it comes to holiday greetings, Canadians prefer cards in the mail

Canadians plan on sending an average of 15.6 cards in the mail this year

OTTAWA, Dec. 13 /CNW/ - The tradition of the holidays still resonates strongly with Canadians. In a survey conducted by Harris/Decima on behalf of Canada Post in early November, 8 out of 10 Canadians expressed a strong preference to receiving a holiday card in the mail. This is an increase compared to 2008, when a similar survey showed 71% of Canadians prefer receiving cards in the mail.

According to the survey, Canadians will send an average of 15.6 cards this year, with 23% of them sending more than 21 cards each. For those planning to send cards electronically, the average drops to 5, while a large proportion (60%) are not planning to send holiday greetings electronically. Women are more likely to send greetings by mail (75%) compared to men (62%). As expected, younger Canadians were more open to receiving electronic cards.

The survey also showed regional differences. For example, Atlantic Canadians were most likely to send mail (83%) and by far preferred receiving a card in the mail (92%). Quebecers and Ontarians were more open to sending electronic greetings.

"While Canadians are communicating electronically more than ever before, there is still nothing better than sending and receiving a card in the mail, especially at this time of year," says Mary Traversy, Senior vice- president, Transaction Mail. "We're ready to deliver all those greetings and recommend getting them in the mail by Friday to avoid disappointment."

The telephone survey was conducted with a sample of the Canadian population (n=1001) between November 5 and November 10, 2010. Sample was weighted to reflect the known Canadian population statistics and the margin of error is ±3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

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