TORONTO, April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the old adage goes, "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Perhaps that's why moms find themselves purchasing gifts for themselves or footing some of the celebration bill come Mother's Day. A recent survey by digital offers site RetailMeNot.ca found that one-third (33 per cent) of Canadian moms will spend an average of $170 on themselves on May 8 – outspending their loved ones by nearly $10. On top of that, 38 per cent of Canadians agree that mom will usually pay for part of her own Mother's Day celebration – this is even more true for moms of younger kids (67 per cent).

So what does mom really want? Forty-eight per cent of moms who spend on themselves on Mother's Day prefer a dinner surrounded by family members as compared to any physical gift – with dinner on the town (28 per cent) beating out a quiet meal at home (21 per cent). This is certainly something to keep in mind as families hit the mall looking for that ultimate Mother's Day gift; in fact, only four per cent would purchase jewelry and a mere one per cent would buy kitchen gadgets.

"Moms are looking to make memories on Mother's Day, rather than receive material gifts, yet it's often those experiences that can be the most costly, with the average person spending about $80 on a single dinner with Mom," says Sara Skirboll, of RetailMeNot, Inc. "While planning that special dinner out, look into restaurants offering Mother's Day specials or do a quick coupon search – that way you can enjoy time with mom without breaking the bank."

For Canadians who are planning on purchasing a gift, make sure your dollars are going to good use before dishing out dough. With less than half of Canadians (37 per cent) actually asking Mom what she wants for Mother's Day, it's no wonder the majority agree (53 per cent): Moms tend to receive gifts they need rather than gifts they want. The traditional Mother's Day gifts are still demanding most of the budget with Canadians planning to spend the following amounts on these categories of gifts:

• Jewelry: $114
• Spa service: $94
• Tickets to an event or show: $88
• Gift card: $50
• Flowers: $35
• Chocolate or candy: $22

Moms of all kinds
Canadians are also open to expanding the definition of "mom" this Mother's Day, with 58 per cent agreeing that expecting mothers should not be forgotten. The celebrations don't stop there; 1 in 5 Canadians agree that fur-moms (i.e. pet parents) should be recognized on Sunday, May 8. On the flip side, 41 per cent of Canadians say mothers-in-law are not typically celebrated on the special day, and 33 per cent agree it's the same for a stepmom. Why not shake things up a little and surprise the stepmom or mother-in-law in your life with some Mother's Day love!

Other survey findings include:

• Dear Old Dad: Seventy-five per cent of men feel that more people celebrate Mother's Day than do Father's Day versus only 56 per cent of women agreeing;
• Day Off Dreams: 77 per cent of Canadians agree that Mom's ideal way to celebrate Mother's Day is a day off and a break from mommy duties;
• Save Those Pennies: 60 per cent of Canadians believe kids should pay for Mother's Day celebrations;
• Summertime Celebrating: More Canadians (78 per cent) celebrate Mother's Day over Father's Day (70 per cent) and Canada Day (66 per cent).

RetailMeNot.ca regularly conducts consumer trend and spending surveys.

About the survey:
From April 11 to April 12, 2016, an online survey was conducted among 1,502 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 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 (www.retailmenot.com/corp/) is a leading digital savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers and discounted gift cards to save money while they shop or dine out. During the 12 months ended December 31, 2015, RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced over 718 million visits to its websites. It also averaged 23.2 million mobile unique visitors per month during the three months ended December 31, 2015. RetailMeNot, Inc. estimates that approximately $4.8 billion in retailer sales were attributable to consumer transactions from paid digital offers in its marketplace in 2015, more than $600 million of which were attributable to its in-store solution. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio of websites and mobile applications includes RetailMeNot.com in the United States; RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk in the United Kingdom; RetailMeNot.de in Germany; Actiepagina.nl in the Netherlands; ma-reduc.com and Poulpeo.com in France; RetailMeNot.es in Spain, RetailMeNot.it in Italy and GiftCardZen.com and Deals2Buy.com 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 interview requests or more information, please contact:

Erin Banting 
Citizen Relations
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erin.banting@citizenrelations.com

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