Although it’s never easy to put a price tag on Mom, she is expensive, according to the findings of a new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. This year, consumers plan to spend an average of $98.64 on Mother’s Day, up slightly from an average of $97.37 last year, according to the NRF 2004 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF. Survey findings indicate that total spending for Mother s Day will reach $10.43 billion.
Consumers who will purchase jewellery for mom will be the biggest spenders; the average consumer buying jewellery will spend $62.40. Those who will buy clothing plan to spend $31.89 on that purchase and consumers who plan to take mom out for lunch plan to spend $40.54.
Though Mother’s Day celebrations and gifts will vary, many consumers see this as an important day to honour the women in their lives, said Tracy Mullin, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation. With all the sacrifices mom has made over the years, Mother's Day is an opportunity to give something back.
Americans plan to purchase gifts for their own mothers but also plan to recognize other women in their lives. According to the survey, 66.6 percent of consumers plan to purchase a Mother’s Day gift for their mother or stepmother, while another 7.1 percent plan to purchase for their grandmother, 6.4 percent will buy a gift for their daughter, and 5.6 percent will give a gift to a friend. In addition, 42.6 percent of men plan to purchase a Mother’s Day gift for their wife.
In addition to their own mother, many consumers are also buying gifts for their daughters, wives, and grandmothers, said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. When you’re honouring several mothers on one holiday, a $100 price tag is not hard to achieve.
Flowers, cards, and food remain the most popular Mother’s Day gifts this year. More than half of consumers (59.6%) plan to purchase a Mother’s Day card while a third of consumers plan to buy flowers (35.5%) and take mom to a restaurant (33.1%).
Specialty stores like florists, jewellers, and greeting card stores should see a boost in sales, with 32.7 percent of consumers planning to purchase Mother’s Day gifts from the specialty sector. Additionally, 31.0 percent of consumers plan to shop at a discount store and 26.8 percent will spend at a department store. Also, 14.6 percent plan to shop for their Mother s Day gift online.
Other Mother’s Day facts
Mother’s Day is the third most-popular holiday for sending greeting cards, behind Christmas and Valentine’s Day, according to the Greeting Card Association. According to the NRF survey, 59.6 percent of consumers will purchase at least one greeting card for Mother s Day.
Mother’s Day ranks second only to Christmas in the purchase of flowers, according to the Society of American Florists. Of flowers purchased for Mother’s Day, 45.0 percent are cut flowers, 32.0 percent will be outdoor bedding and gardening plants, and 22.0 percent will be flowering and green houseplants. Consumers will spend $868 million on flowers this Mother’s Day, according to NRF.
About the Survey
The NRF 2004 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behaviour and shopping trends related to the Mother’s Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 6,682 consumers was conducted from March 31 April 7. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalogue, Internet and independent stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2003 sales of $3.8 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.
