• by Tanya Gazdik , May 2, 2019

Spending on gifts for Mother’s Day is likely to be up 4% compared to a year ago, with growth in the spa category. 

Mother's Day celebrants intend to spend on average $233, according to Brand Keys.

Men, following a long-standing tradition, spend more than women, reporting an anticipated average spend of $255, with women reporting an anticipated spend of $211.

This year, besides the traditional cards, flowers, and clothing, spa services have come into their own, as they are seen as more personalized and customizable gifts, says Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, Inc., the New York-based consumer loyalty consultancy. 

“Customization and personalization are values that have been making themselves felt in many product and service categories, so no surprise that they’ve begun to resonate in the holidays sector,” Passikoff tells Marketing Daily.

"I also think that while there’s a wide range of gift categories — the more traditional Mother’s Day gifts have become the proverbial ‘get-Dad-a-tie-for-Father’s Day’ gifts," he adds. "The increase in the spa category seems to be the union of those two trends. A spa gift essentially works at all levels, for all recipients, without having to worry about sizes or colors.”

The spa category continues to grow, with an 11% increase over last year -- more than two times the growth for gift cards, the next largest growth category.

This year, as part of Brand Keys' annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, 8,200 men and women, ages 16-65 from the nine U.S. Census regions, were asked if and how they planned to celebrate Mother's Day.

Today, nearly everyone marks the day, Passikoff says. Over the past 15 years, Mother's Day has come to encompass a broader spectrum of relationships, connections, and emotional bonds and has becomes a widespread, collective celebration for birth mothers, wives, stepmothers, female relatives and friends, divorced, single parents, same-sex and civil union households. It crosses virtually every cultural, ethnic, and religious border.

“It’s become a celebration of women, whether they hold the official status of ‘Mother' or not,  For that reason, Mother’s Day has become  a retailers’ dream,” says Passikoff.

Most consumers indicated they will make multiple gift purchases. Their gift list is generally consistent with 2018, with the exception of spa services, which 66% plan to purchase, and gift cards, which 65% plan to buy (up 5%).

Cards/e-cards will be purchased by 96% of respondents, down 1%, while brunch/lunch/dinner will be purchased by 93%, up 1%. Flowers are bought by 88% (down 1%) while clothing's purchased by 85% (down 2%). Jewelry will be purchased by 60%, flat with 2018, while books will be bought by 24%, up 3%. Candy will be purchased by 8%, down 2% from 2018.

Most consumers anticipate shopping at specialty shops (70%) while 55% will choose discount stores and 45% will shop at department stores. Online shopping is anticipated by 48% of those surveyed, while only 2% purchase from catalogs.