Canadians and Americans tend to have similar values, lifestyles, attitudes, habits, and customs, and similar preferences for consumer electronics products.

According to recent studies, brand name is not the top-purchasing driver for Canadian consumers. Pricing and product features are considered more important.

New digital technologies are affecting consumer preferences. Digital home products generated more than CDN $5 billion (US $4.25 billion) in revenue in the Canadian retail market in the 12 months ending in March 2005 with MP players up 246%, notebook computers (up 33%) and digital cameras up 25%.

Digital TV subscriptions are on the rise, expected to hit 5.1 million by December 2005, 5.9 million by the end of 2006 generating a strong demand for higher-end digital set-up boxes and HDTV and PVR/DVR capabilities.