Canadian tech gifts driven by nostalgia, physical ownership: survey

Canadians are leaning into the nostalgia factor for tech holiday gifts, driven by a growing desire to own physical products, according to a new survey.

Named the Holiday Tech Gifting Report, the study was done by Best Buy and Angus Reid. It surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults between Oct. 16-20, 2026, who were members of the Angus Reid Forum.

Starting things off, the study shared that four in ten (40 per cent) of Canadians are likely to buy a tech gift because of the nostalgia factor. To make it specific, Best Buy notes that Millennials (53 per cent) are the most likely generation to do so, while Boomers (22 per cent) are almost half as likely to do so. Millennials are also the most likely to say that it reminds them of a certain time in their life (20 per cent), almost double that of Boomers (11 per cent).

The survey also noted that if Canadians could bring back one piece of tech, the iPod (15 per cent) was the highest voted, with the physical keyboard-sporting BlackBerry, Nintendo 64, or Super Nintendo all following behind. In terms of age groups, Gen Z favoured the iPod (22 per cent), while Millennials chose the Nintendo 64/Super Nintendo (24 per cent). Boomers on the other hand, were most likely to pick VCR/VHS tapes (17 per cent).

Why the rise in nostalgia? Well, according to the survey, one in three Canadians say their main reason for being drawn to old tech is a preference for owning physical products — with nearly one in four (23 per cent) having bought music, movies, or games within the last year. Interestingly, Millennials (32 per cent) and Gen Z (30 per cent) were more than twice as likely to have purchased physical media within the last year.

The survey also said that 46 per cent of Canadians are considering a tech product as a holiday gift this year. These people also said that what matters most is that the recipient will use it regularly and that it reflects their interests (both at 46 per cent), that it is a good value (36 per cent), and that it lasts for years (30 per cent).

Of course, the survey notes that Boomers (24 per cent) were more than twice as likely as Gen Z (9 per cent) to say that ease of setup matters most.

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