A Visa Canada gift-giving survey suggests Boxing Day shoppers plan to spend 29 per cent less this year — $233 on average, versus last year's $328, for a total of $1.2 billion.

While more than five million Canadians plan to go shopping on the day after Christmas, that's just 23 per cent of holiday shoppers — the lowest recorded national average since 2002.

Tania Freedman of Visa Canada says that, "After several weeks of searching for holiday gifts, it seems that many Canadian shoppers look forward to spending time with their families and friends this Boxing Day.

"Many of those who plan to go Boxing Day shopping say they'll be on the lookout for electronic goods or clothes."

For the third year in a row, the survey suggests Ontarians are the most likely to go Boxing Day shopping, at 30 per cent.

All other regions are on par or slightly below the national average of 23 per cent, with Atlantic Canada at 17 per cent and Quebec at 16 per cent, reporting the least number of Boxing Day shopping enthusiasts.

Oil-rich Albertans, who plan to spend the most by region on holiday gifts, plan to spend an average $431 on Boxing Day — the biggest average amount across all regions and 85 per cent more than the national average.

The Visa Canada gift-giving survey was conducted by Omnitel between Nov. 1 and 7. A random national sample of 1,318 male and female respondents 18 years of age and older were interviewed via telephone.

Results for a sample of this size are considered accurate, with a margin of error of 2.67 per cent, 19 times out of 20.