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According to a survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association conducted by BIGinsight, 173 million people will watch the New England Patriots square off against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, the most in the survey’s eight-year history and up from an estimated 171 million last year. Consumer spending for the Super Bowl will reach an all-time high, too, with the average game-watcher expected to shell out $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $59.33 last year. Total Super Bowl spending is expected to reach $11 billion.

According to the survey, grocery, apparel, electronics, sporting goods and home furnishing stores can expect to see their share of Super Bowl-related spending as sports fans head out to buy food and beverages (71.3 percent), team apparel or accessories (8.6 percent), decorations (6.4 percent), and furniture or a new entertainment center (2.4 percent).

Of those planning to watch the Patriots-Giants show down, nearly 63.6 million (27.1 percent) are planning to attend a party, up from last year’s 61.2 million, and another 35.9 million (15.3 percent) plan to throw a party, also up from the 34.9 million who said they would host a party in 2011.

After a better-than-expected holiday season, more good news is on the horizon for retailers planning promotions on televisions in the coming weeks.

The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2012 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was conducted by BIGinsight. The poll of 9,317 consumers was conducted from Jan.4-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation, is a trade association of more than 1,500 retail marketing and advertising executives.