TORONTO, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Selfish Santas may be comin' to town this holiday season as a substantial majority of Canadians surveyed (81 per cent) see nothing wrong with picking up an item or two for themselves while buying gifts for others, according to the latest consumer trends survey from digital offers website RetailMeNot.ca. In fact, this behaviour is so common that in the past, 24 per cent of Canadians surveyed have come home from a holiday shop with ONLY gifts for themselves.

"A RetailMeNot.ca survey revealed that Canadians are planning to spend an average of more than $200 on themselves this holiday season. That represents more than one-third (36 per cent) of the average of what they are planning to spend on others," says Angela Self, a co-founder of Smart Cookies, the daily guide to living a sweet life debt-free. "Avoid the guilt of spending more by finding savvy ways to save. For instance, if you're using a credit or charge card to buy your holiday gifts, use the points you accumulate with your holiday spending to treat yourself or look for a buy-one-get-one-free offer."

The RetailMeNot.ca survey also revealed that nearly half of Canadians surveyed (47 per cent) believe Boxing Day and Boxing Week offer the greatest deals, and they plan to take advantage of those shopping occasions this year. However, with sales stretching out longer and longer over many days, 63 per cent of Canadians surveyed feel less urgency to rush to join the Boxing Day lines this year. Nearly half of Canadians surveyed (49 per cent) will be looking to buy the gifts they wished they received during the holidays on Boxing Day and Boxing Week.

The survey also revealed that many Canadians will be scurrying through the malls and shopping late, with more than half of survey respondents (56 per cent) admitting to having purchased a gift for someone on Christmas Eve. Men are the biggest last-minute-shopping culprits, with 63 per cent of male survey respondents admitting to shopping with just hours to spare. The remainder of Canadians surveyed (44 per cent) will be avoiding last-minute holiday shopping, which isn't surprising since 40 per cent find last-minute shopping stressful.

Continuing the holiday celebrations, other findings about Canadians surveyed include:

• No thanks, New Year's Eve: Half plan to stay in this New Year's Eve due to high costs;
• Bah humbug to bars: 72 per cent believe bars and clubs use New Year's Eve as a money grab;
• Holiday hangover: More than one quarter (28 per cent) say they do not have enough money left over from the holiday season to celebrate New Year's Eve the way they want;
• Frivolous partiers: Nearly 2 in 5 (39 per cent) men do not worry about costs on New Year's Eve;
• High-priced holidays:1 in 5 will spend more than $1,000 this holiday season.

To lend a helping hand this holiday season, RetailMeNot.ca teamed up with Angela Self and Katie Dunsworth of Smart Cookies to offer savvy spending tips and tricks. Here are a few of their insider ideas for holiday shopping and savings:

• If you're a last-minute gifter, go personal: For the last-minute shoppers out there, put together a gift package with a friend or family member's favourite magazine, treats and beauty products – it can be a simple yet thoughtful way to give a gift without having to plan in advance.
• For those who are hard to shop for, go for the experience:You can also give the gift of an experience that keeps on giving. Is there a training course or class you know someone on your list has always talked about taking? Don't forget about gift cards to their favourite retailer for a shopping spree!
• Avoid the crowds to keep stress low: Many of your favourite retailers have extended shopping hours in the weeks leading up to the holiday season. Take advantage and beat the crowds by shopping early. For instance, take an extra half hour in the morning and hit up the mall with a plan!
• Get a smart deal with your smartphone: Put your shopping list in your smartphone so it's at your fingertips. This will allow you to maximize your shopping time while on the go. If you are waiting in a long store line-up, do a quick search on a coupon site like RetailMeNot.ca to score an extra discount.
• Selfish Santas, make your spending work for you: Treat yourself without blowing your holiday budget. If you're using a credit or charge card to buy your holiday gifts, use the points you accumulate with your holiday spending to treat yourself – without the guilt. Additionally, look for buy-one-get-one offers to get two items for the price of one.

RetailMeNot.ca regularly conducts consumer behaviour surveys to examine the buying habits of Canadians.

About the survey:

From November 28 to 29, 2014, an online survey was conducted among 1,004 randomly selected adult Canadian residents who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.

RetailMeNot, Inc. (www.retailmenot.com/corp/) operates the world's largest marketplace for digital offers. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers from their favorite retailers and brands. During the 12 months ended September 30, 2014, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced more than 655 million visits to its websites. In 2013, RetailMeNot estimates $3.5 billion in paid retailer sales were attributable to consumer traffic from digital offers in its marketplace. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio includes http://www.retailmenot.com/, the largest digital offer marketplace in the United States; http://www.retailmenot.ca/ in Canada; http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/, the largest digital offer marketplace in the United Kingdom; http://www.deals.com/ in Germany; http://www.actiepagina.nl/, a leading digital offer site in the Netherlands; http://www.ma-reduc.com/ and Bons-de-Reduction.com, leading digital offer sites in France; http://www.poulpeo.com/, a leading digital offer site with cash back in France; and http://www.deals2buy.com/, a leading digital offer site in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol "SALE." Investors interested in learning more about the company can visit: http://investor.retailmenot.com/.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Rachael Collier
Citizen Relations
+ 1 416 306 6641 office
+ 1 416 995 1432 mobile
rachael.collier@citizenrelations.com

Kristen Nelson
RetailMeNot, Inc.
+1 832 398 5792 mobile
knelson@rmn.com

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