Flowers, Special Outings Among Top Gifts As Mother’s Day Spending Expected To Hit $33.5B

A fresh survey projects consumers will celebrate Mother's Day by spending $33.5 billion on the holiday this year.

With Mother’s Day close at hand, Americans are expected to spend $33.5 billion to make it memorable.

That amount would make Mother Day’s spending this year the second-highest, just behind a record $35.7 billion last year, based on the annual consumer survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Consumers, on average, plan to disburse $254.04 on Mother’s Day gifts and galas, the second-highest per-person figure and down from last year’s banner level of $274.02. The largest spenders are projected to be ages 35-44, anticipated to budget an average of $345.75 to celebrate the special ladies.

“Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who play a meaningful role in our lives,” stated NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers know the significant importance of this day and are ready to help their customers with a wide selection of meaningful gifts for loved ones to show their appreciation.”

According to a news release, and in line with prior years, the most popular gifts to give are flowers (74%), greeting cards (74%), and special outings like dinner or brunch (59%).

Consumers will spend $7 billion on jewelry, $5.9 billion on special outings, and $3.5 billion on electronics. Total spending on flowers is expected to hit $3.2 billion, and $1.1 billion on greeting cards this year.

Gifts that are thoughtful will be preeminent with many Mother’s Day shoppers. More will center on identifying and presenting items that are rare (48%) or create a special memory (43%) than in past years.

Nearly 60% of those celebrating the holiday are shopping specifically for a mother or stepmother, followed by a wife (22%) or daughter (12%).

“Even though consumers continue to gravitate toward classic Mother’s Day gifts like flowers and greeting cards, almost one-third plan to give a gift of experience this year,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist stated. “Consumers also plan to spend more on special outings than they have in the past.”

Pertaining to where people are shopping, online this year retained the most popular destination, with department stores (32%), specialty stores (29%), and local or small businesses (25%) coming next.