Walmart Canada Releases Valentine's Day Survey for 2013

• Survey shows average Valentine's Day shopper plans on spending $173
• Half of Valentine's Day shoppers intend to buy candy and sweets
• On average Canadians save more than 15 per cent on confectionary items at Walmart compared to conventional grocers*

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 14, 2013 /CNW/ - Walmart Canada today unveiled the results of a nationwide Valentine's Day shopping survey conducted for the retailer by Research Management Group. The survey probes buying trends and shopping preferences across Canada for Valentine's Day**. According to this year's survey, Canadians see Walmart as the number one retailer for saving money this Valentine's Day.

"In confectionary alone, Walmart has an average price gap of more than 15 per cent versus conventional grocers," said Lori Vaughn, vice president of pricing for Walmart Canada. "With an average total Valentine's Day spend of $173, savings like that can really help."

Survey Highlights

• 94 per cent of those polled planned to shop for Valentine's Day
• As of Friday February 8, 60 per cent of those planning on shopping for Valentine's Day had not started, and only 15 per cent had completed their shopping
• Survey shows customers consider Walmart Canada the number 1 retailer for Valentine's Day savings
• Average Valentine's Day budget is $173, $10 dollars more than for the Super Bowl
• Candy, cards and clothes are top 3 Valentine's Day gifts

"We're all set to help customers find the perfect gift for their Valentine," said Oliver Horton, senior vice president for food and consumables. "With competitive pricing across the top Valentine's Day items, ranging from candy, flowers, jewellery, and even video games, Walmart Canada is Canada's Valentine's Day one-stop-shop for the whole family.

*About Price Gap
To ensure Walmart Canada is saving its customers money and providing low prices on a basket of merchandise, the retailer checks and compares 140,000 prices at hundreds of stores under multiple banners across the country on a weekly basis.

**Valentine's Day Trend Survey
Conducted by Research Management Group for Walmart Canada, the online survey of 787 shoppers has a margin of error is 3.5 per cent. Respondents were recruited from the AskingCanadians national panel to quotas representing primary household shoppers by region, gender and age to reflect the national profile. Note that like the primary household shopper profile the sample is 70 per cent female and 30 per cent male. Fieldwork timing was from January 14 and February 8.

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of more than 375 locations nationwide serving more than one million customers each day, as well as its flagship online store, www.walmart.ca, which is visited by over 250,000 Canadians daily. With over 94,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is recognized by Waterstone Human Capital as having one of Canada's top 10 corporate cultures. Walmart Canada is focused on helping Canadian families in need. Since 1994, Walmart has donated and raised more than $160 million to Canadian charities and not-for-profit organizations. Additional company information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and at twitter.com/@walmartcanada.

SOURCE: Walmart Canada