Consumers opening their wallets for Mother's Day

Eighty-eight percent of consumers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day 2016 and clothing is this year’s big winner.

That’s according to the annual Brand Keys Mother’s Day survey, which found that consumers intend to spend on average $205.00 this year, up 6% over 2015.

Men, following a long-standing tradition, intend to spend more than women, reporting an anticipated average spend of $228. Women reported an anticipated spend of $182.

“Once again, tradition has trumped tech,” noted Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, the New York-based consumer loyalty and emotional brand engagement consultancy. “Cards, meals, and flowers have become ‘price-of-entry’ for the holiday. But when it came to more substantial gifts, clothing showed the greatest change from last year — up 10%.”

Jewelry was up too, by 7%. Spending on tech related gifts was generally unchanged, with only 12% indicating that kind of purchase.

Preferences for shopping venues reflect this year’s preference for more traditional gifts, according to Passikoff, and remained generally unchanged from last year, with the exception of department stores, which were down 6%.

Catalogues were down again this year by another 4%.

“Discount and specialty stores were at the top of consumers’ list of places to shop for Mom “because consumers regard them as ideal venues for apparel and jewelry,” said Passikoff.