(12/24/10) -

Americans, Britons and Canadians Prefer Artificial Christmas Trees

Nearly one third of respondents in each country will not have a Christmas tree at home at all this year.

People in three countries are united in their choice to rely on artificial Christmas trees in 2010, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of representative national samples shows that three-in-five Britons (62%) prefer an artificial Christmas tree while 58 per cent of Canadians and 53 per cent of Americans share this sentiment.

Consistently, more than a quarter respondents in each country do not have a Christmas tree at home (26% in Canada, 24% in Britain and 31% in the U.S.).

Respondents who have or planned to purchase a real Christmas tree this year were asked why they were doing so. Across the three countries, tradition is the main motivator for purchasing a fresh tree. Convenience was the main reason why the majority of people in all three countries opt for artificial trees.

In Canada, 37 per cent of those who have or plan to buy a real tree believe it is more environmentally friendly than an artificial one. In Britain and the United States, the proportions are 25 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.

One third of artificial tree owners (33%) in Britain believe that it is the more ecologically friendly option, along with 33 per cent of synthetic tree owners in the U.S. and 39 per cent in Canada.

Political preferences are a telling indicator as to whether a respondent prefers a real or artificial tree. In the United States, 20 per cent of Republicans favour an authentic tree, while only 15 per cent of Democrats concur. In Canada, a quarter of respondents who voted for the Green Party in the last federal election (24%) choose a real tree, while 63 per cent of Conservative Party voters go for the imitation tree. In Britain, only 11 per cent of Labour Party voters choose a real tree—compared to 18 per cent of Conservatives and 15 per cent of Liberal Democrats.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Communications & Media Relations
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From December 14 to December 17, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,000 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists, 1,005 American adults who are Springboard America panellists, and 2,003 British adults who are Springboard UK panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for Canada and the United States and 2.2% for Great Britain. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada, the US and Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.