Survey Shows Spa Days and Gift Cards Most Desired Mother's Day Gifts

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With less than two weeks until Mother's Day on May 8, the best bet this year is giving mom her choice for gifts and pampering, according to a new survey(1) conducted by independent research firm Toluna and released today by Buy.com®. Over one third of Americans (35 percent) will find out from mom what she wants before shopping – and topping her list this year is a day at the spa or a favorite gift card as the most desired gifts.

In the survey of more than 1,000 adults, which included nearly 200 moms, a day at the spa ranked as moms' top gift (23 percent), followed by gift cards (20 percent), which were especially important to older moms.  Moms over age 55 ranked gift cards (38 percent) followed by a new computer (25 percent) as the most desired presents.

Other key findings of the survey included:

• Moms ranked flowers as their "least desired" gift overall (22 percent)
• When asked the ideal way to spend Mother's Day, 32 percent of moms cited a "nice meal out" and 30 percent preferred "spending time with family at home"
• 22 percent of respondents plan to spend at least $25 more on mom this year, compared to last year
• 33 percent of Americans spend more on Mother's Day vs. Father's Day gifts
• For 23 percent of respondents, online search is the No. 1 way to decide on what to give as a Mother's Day gift
• "Something homemade" ranked third (17 percent) in terms of most desired gifts

For those that can't splurge on a luxury spa outing but want to recreate the spa experience for mom at home, Buy.com's Health & Beauty store is a one-stop online destination for affordable bath sets, massage products, scented candles, fragrances and more.

To give mom what she truly wants, shoppers also can access Buy.com's Gift Card store for hundreds of popular brands such as Regal Entertainment Group®, Sephora® and others. Available in multiple categories, including dining, entertainment, fashion and more, shoppers also can search for brand-name gift cards in a range of denominations. Gift cards are redeemable online or at issuing retailer locations.

For the tech-savvy mom, Buy.com has built a reputation as one of the Web's leading online sites for great deals on consumer electronics, with the company frequently offering daily and weekly deals on computers and computer accessories.

Buy.com offers the industry's leading free shipping offers, with no minimum purchases on more than 2.6 million products, with millions of other products shipped for free on orders above $25. For peace-of-mind that mom will be perfectly satisfied this year, Buy.com is the largest U.S. retail marketplace of its kind to offer 45 days for product returns (longer than the 30-day industry standard policy), with no restocking fees.

To find more gift ideas and special promotions, visit the Buy.com Mother's Day Store at http://www.buy.com/mothers.  

About Buy.com

With more than 18 million customers, Buy.com is a leading retail marketplace, focused on providing its customers with a great shopping experience and a broad selection of retail goods at everyday low prices. Buy.com offers millions of products in a range of categories, including consumer electronics, computer hardware and software, cell phones, books, music, DVDs, games, toys, bags, fragrance, home and outdoor, baby, jewelry, shoes, apparel and sporting goods. Founded in June 1997, Buy.com is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Buy.com is owned by Rakuten, Japan's leading Internet Company. Together, Rakuten and Buy.com represent one of the world's largest online retail marketplaces, offering consumers more than 70 million products from more than 35,000 merchants around the globe.

Buy.com® and The Internet Superstore™ are trademarks of Buy.com Inc.

About Rakuten

Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755), is one of the world's leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer and business-focused services including e-commerce, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal & media, online marketing and professional sports. Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe and North America.  Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, generating $36 billion in annual gross transaction volume, and has more than 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit http://global.rakuten.com/group/.

1. Survey methodology

Toluna, Inc. fielded the study on behalf of Buy.com on April 15, 2011 via its online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 1,037 adults aged 18 years and older.  Data were weighted using propensity score weighting to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online.  Data for questions related to online use or behaviors were weighted specifically to the respective "online" populations.  No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

SOURCE Buy.com