March Madness Is Like Christmas for Sports Fans: RetailMeNot Found That Fans Are Planning to Spend Major Dough on the Big Dance (1)

- Those who have March Madness expenses will spend on average $211.

- More than 1 in 5 workers have watched the tournament while at work.

- Forty-three percent of bracket winners would put their earnings into savings.

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Mar 14, 2016, 07:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- March Madness fans are ready to spend some serious money! A recent survey from RetailMeNot (www.retailmenot.com), a leading digital offers destination that helps consumers save money, and conducted by Kelton Global, found that Americans who are willing to spend money on March Madness–related expenses said they would spend on average $211, up $20 from last year. On average, men are willing to spend almost $100 more than women ($248 vs. $155).

Brackets may be one of the biggest expenses. Fans who say they would be willing to spend money on bracket entries say they would spend on average $90, with more than a third (35%) spending $100 or more.*

"This year, with signs pointing to an unpredictable tournament, it's safe to assume it's anyone's game," says Clendon Ross, sports commentator and RetailMeNot, Inc. community manager. "Fans will no doubt be on the edge of their seats throughout the Big Dance and may enter more than one bracket due to the uncertain outcome."

Watching on the clock
Money isn't the only thing basketball fans are willing to put on the line. Bosses beware! Dedicated fans are willing to ditch work to watch the Big Dance:

More than 1 in 5 (21%) have watched the tournament while at work.
Over 1 in 10 (11%) have planned a vacation day just to watch the games.
Close to 1 in 10 (8%) have gone as far as calling in sick to work.

The food served is almost as important as the games themselves. The most requested snacks at March Madness parties are pizza (67%), followed by chips and dip (63%), nachos (49%) and Buffalo wings (47%)*.

Winning doesn't necessarily mean splurging
Forty-three percent of bracket winners plan to put their earnings into their savings account. However, not all winners are as conscientious: More than 1 in 4 (27%) are planning to treat themselves to a nice dinner, followed by taking a trip (20%) and purchasing an electronic device (16%).

Join in on the fun
Want in on the action, but basketball isn't your thing? Don't worry! Almost 1 in 6 (16%) consumers have pretended to know about the games, while close to 1 in 10 (8%) have gotten a friend to fill out their bracket, followed by automating their bracket online (7%).

Can't decide on a team to root for? Americans prefer to pick a team based on its location (34%), followed by their alma mater (16%), a specific player on the team (10%) and uniform colors (9%).*

ABOUT RETAILMENOT, INC.
RetailMeNot, Inc. (http://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 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; 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.

Be sure to "like" RetailMeNot, Inc. on Facebook and follow the company via Twitter @retailmenotinc.

Report Methodology
The RetailMeNot January 2016 survey was conducted between January 5, 2016, and January 8, 2016, among 1,037 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over.

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 survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3 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.

*The February 2015 Survey, Part 2, was conducted between February 23 and February 27, 2015, among 1,023 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over.

In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey 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.

[1] "March Madness" and "The Big Dance" are registered trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. RetailMeNot does not have a relationship with, and is not endorsed by, the NCAA, March Madness or The Big Dance.

Media Contacts:
RetailMeNot PR Department
[email protected]

Alison Brod PR
[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130626/DA38415LOGO

SOURCE RetailMeNot.com