Consumer spending on Mother’s Day is expected to reach $34.1 billion this year, according to the latest annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s up from last year’s $33.5 billion and follows closely behind the record of $35.7 billion in 2023.
“Mother’s Day is an important holiday for many consumers, only surpassed by the winter holidays in terms of average spending,” said NRF VP of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen. “Even in the face of economic uncertainty, consumers continue to celebrate the special women in their lives with gifts and outings.”
As with previous years, 84% of U.S. adults are expected to celebrate the holiday. On average, those celebrating plan to spend $259.04 on Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations, about $5 more than they budgeted in 2024.
When it comes to where they shop for such goods, online (36%) tops the list, followed by department stores (32%), specialty stores (29%) and local or small businesses (25%).
Some other findings:
- The most popular gift categories remain flowers (74%), greeting cards (73%) and special outings such as dinner or brunch (61%).
- Consumers will spend a total of $6.8 billion on jewelry, $6.3 billion on special outings and $3.5 billion on gift cards. Total spending on flowers is expected to reach $3.2 billion, while total spending on greeting cards is expected to reach $1.1 billion.
- Consumers are also continuing to prioritize thoughtful gifts this holiday. Nearly half of consumers (48%) say finding a gift that’s unique or different is most important to them, followed by 42% who say finding a gift that creates a special memory. Gifts of experience continue to be popular post-pandemic — 36% of men plan to gift experiences this year, up from 29% in 2019.
The survey of just under 8000 U.S. adult consumers was conducted March 31-April 7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
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Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
