Judging by their other purchasing habits, the 2.6 million (9%) Canadians who spent $250 or more on gift cards in the past year are definitely sentimental softies. Check this out:

▪ Gift card purchasers are five times more likely than average Canadians to have spent $250 or more on flowers as a gift for someone else in the past year.

▪ They’re 50% more likely to have bought perfume or cologne as a gift in the past year.

▪ They’re four times more likely to have had a body scrub or wrap in the past year.

▪ They’re 4.7 times more likely to shop at party supply stores about once a month.

▪ They’re four times more likely to currently make their own beer and three times more likely to have purchased wine at a do-it-yourself wine-making store in the past month.

▪ They’re 3.1 times more likely to be planning to purchase hand-held video game systems such as a Game Boy in the next two years.

▪ Their buying interest extends to television, as they are three times more likely to watch a TV infomercial in an average week.

▪ TV (89%), Radio (87%), and Internet (65%) are the top 3 media by yesterday exposure for Canadians who spent $250 or more on gift cards in the past year.

▪ The top three formats by weekly radio reach for this group are News/Talk (33%), Adult Contemporary (27%), and Hot Adult Contemporary (21%).

▪ And News/Current affairs (63%), Movies (61%), and Suspense/Drama (49%) are their top three television program types watched in an average week.

The preceding information is from BBM RTS Canada Spring ’08 (individuals 12+), part of a syndicated consumer-media survey of over 64,000 Canadians, conducted twice a year by BBM Analytics. For more information, contact Andrew Currie at acurrie@bbm.ca