TORONTO - For those retailers looking to reap dual U.S.-Canadian success, consider a recent Quadrant Marketing study that found sharp distinctions between U.S. consumers and their neighbors to the north, as reported in Digital Journal.

Some of the differences highlighted in the study include:

• While in the U.S., list-making is common, with roughly three in four consumers preparing a list before setting out to a store, more than half of all Canadians are list-less when it comes to shopping.
• Americans are price-conscious, with 79 percent looking at price when choosing a retail location, while only 55 percent of those north of the border focus on price, with the rest concerned about convenience, assortment and reward programs.
• POS displays take on a greater importance in Canada, with 48 percent of shoppers influenced by in-store signage, compared with 20 percent in the U.S.

"In the absence of specific insights about Canadians, marketers often try to leverage U.S. shopper research," said Molly Spinak, president of Quadrant Marketing. "There are vast differences between Canadian and U.S. ethnographic and retailer landscapes. What works in the U.S. doesn't necessarily work in Canada. ... Point-of-purchase is an important battleground for brands today, so we took on this first-of-a-kind Canadian study as a way to help our clients with spending their dollars more effectively."