About 51.8% of consumers will treat mom to a brunch or dinner for Mother's Day

Having spent slightly more on Valentine’s Day, Easter and even St. Patrick’s Day this year, consumers are continuing the trend and will spend a little bit more on mommy dearest as well. Behind the winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza), Mother’s Day is the second largest U.S. consumer spending holiday. NRF’s 2010 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found the average person will shell out $126.90 on Mother’s Day gifts, compared to $123.89 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $14.6 billion.*

As one of the biggest holidays of the year, billions will be spent at restaurants or on clothing, jewelry and flowers. Nearly two-thirds (65.2%) of celebrants will buy flowers, totaling $1.9 billion. An additional 51.8 percent will treat mom to a brunch or dinner, spending $2.9 billion on mom’s favorite food. Jewelers will also see some traffic this year with 26.2 percent of people planning on buying a special bracelet or earring set, totaling $2.5 billion. Others will buy clothing or clothing accessories ($1.3 billion), gift certificates ($1.5 billion), personal service such as a day at the spa ($933 million), consumer electronics ($906 million) and greeting cards ($671 million).

“Even with slight improvements in the economy, consumers are still looking for unique, sentimental and inexpensive ways to show mom that she is important,” said Tracy Mullin, President and CEO, NRF. “Retailers and restaurants will have an array of gift options for people to choose from, ranging from small flower bouquets to brunch and dinner promotions for the entire family to enjoy.”

Marking a noticeable shift in where people will buy Mother’s Day gifts this year, one-third (30.6%) will head to department stores, compared to 27.2 percent last year. Specialty stores such as florists or jewelers will see the most traffic, however (33.6%). Others will shop at a discount store (30.4%), online (19.7%), specialty clothing store (6.2%) or catalog (2.5%).

Of the 83.3 percent of Americans celebrating the holiday this year, most will focus on buying a gift for their mom or stepmom (62.6%) or wife (20.6%). Others will treat their daughter (9.4%), grandmother (7.9%), sister (7.6%), friend (6.8%) or godmother (1.7%) to something nice.

“For some, mom is the glue that holds the family together,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “After a few years of cutting back on their discretionary spending, consumers will open up their wallets a little bit more to celebrate the woman with the most important job in the world.”

Men will spend much more than women on Mother’s Day, shelling out an average of $154.74, compared to women who will spend an average of $100.46. Adults 25-34 years old will spend the most with the average person expected to spend $156.84; young adults will spend only slightly less at $155.52 average per person.

About the Survey

The NRF 2010 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Mother’s Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,197 consumers was conducted from April 6 – 13, 2010. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent