Mother’s Day Spending on the Rise

Mother’s Day is more than a new movie in theaters. It’s a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood and the influence of mothers in society. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day as a national holiday on the second Sunday in May.

In the U.S., Mother’s Day is May 8th, 2016.

In modern times, Mom is celebrated by the giving of thoughtful gifts, including handmade goods, breakfast in bed, flowers, or some other physical gift that she wants or has meaning for the family.

According to the National Retail Foundation survey last year, Americans spent an average of $172.63 on mom, up nearly $10 from the previous year ($162.94 in 2014). The total national spending was estimated at $21.2 billion.

The most common gift? 80% of consumers in the survey said they were picking up a greeting card for mom, spending more than $786 million. 67% of respondents bought flowers, with total spending around $2.4 billion dollars. In fact, Mother’s day is the 2nd highest ranking holiday for Florists, and accounts for about 25% of the floral purchases made for holidays (source: AboutFlowers.com).

Going for the wow factor (or favorite child status), 34.2% were planning to purchase jewelry for their mothers, spending $4.3 billion, up 31.7% over 2014!

Recently, I spoke with 4th generation jewelry store owner Tom Dixon of Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Wisconsin to discuss this trend.

Tom said that “having been in the jewelry business for so many years, we have seen this trend supported by increased sales over time. Mother’s Day is a very special holiday for many consumers and families, and nothing says ‘special gift’ like a piece of jewelry for mom to wear all-year long.”

Some of the types of jewelry that people pick up for Mother’s Day include lockets (for your favorite photo), heart shaped pendants, birth stone jewelry, earrings, bracelets, and diamond rings. Men also gift jewelry to the mother of their children, as a way of honoring them all year. Jewelry can be a great way to remind the special woman in your life how much she means to you, whether it’s your own mother, your grandmother, the mother of your children, or a motherly figure.

“Moms are very special and Mother’s Day is a very special holiday for many consumers,” Dixon said. “No matter what someone spends, the most important thing is the way we make mother’s feel on their day.”

For jewelry store owners and other retailers, this means making sure they have the appropriate inventory and are running competitive promotions. Each year there is no shortage of sales to choose from, and retailers look forward to this holiday for an annual boost in sales.

“In the 27 years that I have owned Schwanke-Kasten, we have definitely seen our fair share of people purchasing jewelry for the special women in their life.”

Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers has been family-owned and operated since 1899, and is the exclusive dealer in the Milwaukee area for such brands Rolex, Tudor, Breitling, Forevermark Diamonds, Ritani, Roberto Coin, and Gumuchian. Additionally, they have jewelry and engagement ring mountings by Naledi, Rahaminov, Memoire, A.Link and more. As the fourth generation owner, Tom Dixon and his family are true to keeping the integrity of a traditional jewelry store by offering an onsite gemologist, goldsmith, watch-maker and engraver.

That same NRF survey found that, overall, fewer shoppers were purchasing their gifts online — 25% vs. 29% in 2014. Of no surprise is that the 18–24 year olds who own smartphones and tablets are most likely to use the devices to research products and compare prices for gifts (46%), but they are also most likely to use their tablets to complete the actual purchase (30%).

For business owners, it’s crucial to make sure that your website is ready for Mother’s Day traffic — and particularly that there is a good user experience on mobile devices. Even with a brick-and-mortar store like Schwanke-Kasten, many people do research ahead of their purchase. Tom told us that his website was ready for both the research and the orders that come in from mobile devices. “Our website is mobile-responsive, and allows people to complete their entire transaction from their mobile device, whether it’s a smartphone or tablet.”