Mother’s Day Spending Up 16%

April 29, 2011

bigresearch-mothers-day-spending-may11.gifTotal US spending related to Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 8, 2011) should reach $16.3 billion this year, according to an April 2011 survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and BIGresearch. This figure is up 16% from $14.1 billion in 2010.

Spend Per Person Rises 11%

Average Mother’s Day spending per person is expected to rise about 11% from $126.90 in 2010 to $140.73 this year. That figure is also up close to 14% from $123.89 in 2009 and is roughly equal to average per person spending of slightly less than $140.

Men Outspend Women 48%

bigresearch-mothers-day-spending-demographics-may11.gifMen will spend an average of $168.84 this Mother’s Day, 48% more than the average of $114.01 women will spend. Looking at age-related spending trends, adults 25-34 years old will on average spend the most ($191.35), followed by 18-24-year-olds ($183.38) and
35-44-year-olds ($155.97).

Electronics Purchasers Up Almost 50%

According to the survey, the number of people who plan on buying electronics (13.3%) will rise 48% from last year (9%), and they’re spending more, too. Those buying electronics will spend $94.91 on smartphones, cameras and tablet devices, up 8% from $87.70 last year.

Jewelry Purchasers Increase 19%

Jewelry will also be a much more popular gift option for Mother’s Day this year, with 31.2% of celebrants planning to buy silver, gold or diamonds, up 19% from a little more than 26% last year. Total spending on jewelry is expected to reach $3 billion.

Restaurant Spending Expected to Hit $3B

Restaurants and other businesses will also benefit from the billions of dollars that come in for one of the biggest holidays of the year. More than half (54.7%) of all celebrants will purchase dinner or brunch, spending a total of $3.1 billion.

In addition, one-third (31.8%) of Americans will buy mom clothing or accessories ($1.3 billion total) and nearly two-thirds (64.9%) will buy flowers ($1.9 billion). Consumers will also spend $1.6 billion on gift cards and $1.2 billion on personal services such as a trip to a day spa.

Most Shop for Mom

Of the 83.1% of US adult consumers celebrating Mother’s Day this year, most will shop for their mother (59.9%), while others will buy gifts for their wife (19.6%), daughter (9.6%), grandmother (8%), sister (8.4%), friend (7.3%) or godmother (1.8%).

Dept. Stores Get Business

When it comes to where people will shop, the survey found nearly one-third (32%) of gift buyers will shop at a department store, the most in the survey’s history. Others will shop at discounters (29.6%), specialty stores including jewelers, florists and electronics stores (31.8%), online (21.5%) or at a specialty clothing store (7.1%).

average person will spend $126.90 on Mother’s Day this year, up 2.4% from $123.89 in 2009. Total spending is expected to reach $14.6 billion, a 3.5% lift from $14.1 billion last year.

Easter Spending Also Rose

Mother’s Day is continuing a trend of increased spending on seasonal holidays, most recently demonstrated by expected increased Easter spending. The average adult US consumer was expected to spend $131.04 on everything from candy to clothes for the Easter 2011 holiday (April 24, 2011), up 10% from last year’s $118.60, according to a previous survey from the NRF and BIGresearch. Total spending on Easter-related merchandise was expected to reach $14.6 billion, up 12% from $13.03 billion in 2010.

Despite this increase in average spend per person, about 64% of respondents to the “2011 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey” said they would spend the same this year as last year, with about 25% saying they would spend less and only 11% saying they would spend more.

About the Data: The NRF 2011 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey of 8,488 consumers was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from April 4-12, 2011.

45th Parallel Design Ad

Explore More Charts.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This