Canadians to Spend an Average of $60 on Gift for Mom

Retail News:
Florists, candy stores and jewellery stores to benefit the most

TORONTO, May 6 /CNW/ - With only a few days remaining to find the perfect
Mother's Day gift, a new survey conducted for Moneris Solutions Corporation
("Moneris"), Canada's largest processor of credit and debit card payments,
reveals that Canadians are expecting to spend an average of $60 on a gift for
Mom for this Mother's Day - slightly more than the $55 they plan to spend on
Dad for Father's Day.
"Merchants should be prepared for a busy weekend, as Mother's Day
generates a significant amount of retail spending," said Jim Baumgartner,
President and CEO, Moneris. "By examining our transaction data, Moneris is
able to indicate the types of merchants that are most likely to benefit from
consumer spending this week, and not surprisingly, merchants that sell
flowers, candy and jewellery lead the way."
The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing in late April, offers some
interesting insights on consumer shopping plans for Mother's Day and Father's
Day. Highlights of the survey include the following:

- Approximately four in ten Canadians (36 per cent) plan to purchase
both a Mother's Day and Father's Day gift this year;

- When it came to buying just one gift - either for Mother's Day or for
Father's Day - more Canadians indicated that they would purchase a
gift only for their mother (18 per cent), instead of buying a gift
only for their father (two per cent).

A review of the reasons offered by respondents for this difference
found that:

- One in ten people buying gifts only for their mothers say it
is because their mothers appreciate receiving gifts more than
their fathers;

- Another ten percent feel that Mother's Day is more important
than Father's Day; and

- Approximately five per cent responded that they did not know
what to buy for their fathers.

- Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of those surveyed do not plan to
purchase a gift for either Mother's Day or Father's Day. Those in
British Columbia (33 per cent) and QuÈbec (32 per cent) were more
likely than Canadians in other provinces to say they would not
purchase gifts for either their mothers or fathers; and

- Men are slightly more likely than women to spend over $100 on
Mother's Day gifts (15 per cent versus nine per cent) and Father's
Day gifts (13 per cent versus five per cent).

As Canada's leading payment processor, Moneris is in a unique position to
analyze the increase in debit and credit card spending at Canadian merchants
leading up to major holidays and events, such as Mother's Day.
The data below presents an interesting snapshot of the purchasing
activity from May 5 to 11, 2003 and may be a good indicator of what merchants
can expect leading up to Sunday, May 9, 2004. The following merchant
categories experienced the biggest increase in card spending last year
(compared to the week immediately preceding last year's Mother's Day):

- Florists up 119 per cent;
- Candy, nut and confectionary stores up 54 per cent;
- Jewellery stores up 34 per cent;
- Lawn and garden supplies stores up 23 per cent;
- Book stores up 21 per cent;
- Movie theatres up 15 per cent;
- Department stores up 10 per cent;
- Restaurants up nine per cent; and
- Gift, card and novelty stores up eight per cent.

"Mother's Day has always been an important holiday for merchants because
they benefit from consumers loading up on two types of items - gifts for mom
and spring-related merchandise," continued Baumgartner.

Source: Press Release - Canada Newswire