TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- If given the choice between sex, dinner, lingerie or flowers this Valentine's Day, which would you prefer? According to a recent survey commissioned by RetailMeNot.ca, it depends on your gender! The online survey revealed that the majority of Canadians (61 per cent) prefer to have sex over receiving a gift, including 73 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women – but that's no excuse to forget the roses! While sex may be the answer for some, the survey also found that this Valentine's Day, Canadians intend to stick to conventional gifts but are spending less overall than their U.S. counterparts.

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Most Canadians surveyed (89 per cent) plan to spend the same or less on their loved ones this year compared to 2013. Of Canadians surveyed who do plan to purchase a gift this holiday, 24 per cent plan to spend less than $25 on their loved one, compared to 20 per cent of those in the U.S. Traditional gifts such as cards (28 per cent), chocolate or candy (27 per cent) and flowers (18 per cent) are the most popular purchases among Canadians surveyed. Americans surveyed prefer to wine and dine their loves ones, with a meal (24 per cent) as their most desired gift.

"With a large percentage of Canadians planning to spend less on Valentine's Day gifts this year, smarter shopping habits are a must to acquire that special gift on a budget," says Christy Rabil, director of public relations for RetailMeNot, Inc. "Being a savvy shopper doesn't mean the romance has to suffer. It's easy to remain in budget with digital coupons to use in-store or online for the perfect gifts."

Many Canadians (35 per cent) surveyed intend to purchase their gift a week or two before February 14. However, males are definitely procrastinators when it comes to buying gifts for their significant others. Twenty-seven per cent plan to purchase their gifts the day before Valentine's Day or the day of!

"From flowers to cards to romantic dinners, our goal is to offer Canadians savings on a vast majority of their purchases from the retailers they trust – no one likes to gamble on their Valentine's Day gift," says Rabil. "Planning in advance and using savings tools will help Canadians to plan the perfect gift for any occasion."

Other Valentine's Day survey findings include:

• Cheap Canucks? Thirty-three per cent of Americans intend to spend over $100 on a gift, compared to only 7 per cent of Canadians
• Cost isn't the problem: Only 20 per cent of Canadians worry about the costs associated with Valentine's Day, and is virtually the same for men and women
• What about a trip to Paris? 20 per cent of Canadian women and 13 per cent of men report that they expect to be surprised this Valentine's Day

RetailMeNot.ca regularly conducts consumer behaviour surveys to examine the buying habits of Canadians. Click for more information on the recent U.S. RetailMeNot survey.

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Twitter: @retailmenotca

About the Canadian survey:
From January 24 to January 25, 2014, an online survey was conducted among 1,516 randomly selected Canadian residents 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 in an attempt to obtain a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About the U.S. survey:
The survey was conducted between January 15 and January 22, 2014, among 1,007 U.S. residents ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online report. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a report result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.
RetailMeNot, Inc. (www.retailmenot.com/corp/) operates the world's largest digital coupon marketplace. The company enables consumers across the globe seeking to save money to find hundreds of thousands of digital coupons from retailers and brands. RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced more than 500 million visits to its websites in the last 12 months. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio includes www.RetailMeNot.com, the largest digital coupon marketplace in the United States; www.RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; www.VoucherCodes.co.uk, the largest digital coupon marketplace in the United Kingdom; www.Deals.com in Germany; www.Actiepagina.nl, a leading digital coupon site in the Netherlands; Bons-de-Reduction.com and www.Ma-Reduc.com, leading digital coupon sites in France; www.Poulpeo.com, a leading digital coupon site with cash back in France; and www.Deals2Buy.com, a leading discount offer site in North America. RetailMeNot, Inc. went public in July 2013 and 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/.