NRF: Americans' Mother's Day spending to top $172

Families this year are ready to splurge on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch and apparel for mom.

According to NRF’s 2015 Mother’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on mom this year, up nearly $10 from $162.94 last year and the highest amount in the survey’s 12-year history. Total spending is expected to reach $21.2 billion.

“We’re encouraged by the positive shift we’ve seen in spending on discretionary and gift items from consumers so far this year, certainly boding well for retailers across all spectrums who are planning to promote Mother’s Day specials, including home improvement, jewelry, apparel and other specialty retailers as well as restaurants,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

When it comes to gifts, the majority of consumers will pick up a greeting card for mom (80%), spending more than $786 million, and more than two-thirds (67.2%) of those celebrating will buy flowers, to the tune of $2.4 billion. Shoppers also plan on gifting apparel and clothing items (35.8%), spending more than $1.9 billion, up from $1.7 billion last year. Families will also surprise mom with a special brunch or activity ($3.8 billion), electronic items like a new smartphone or e-reader ($1.8 billion), personal services such as a spa day ($1.5 billion), housewares or gardening tools ($890 million) and books and CDs ($480 million).

Looking for a ‘wow’ from mom, 34.2 percent of Mother’s Day shoppers are planning to splurge on jewelry, spending a survey high of $4.3 billion for the special day, up from 31.7 percent and $3.6 billion last year. Many people know that a gift card could go a long way: Two in five (44.2%) will give mom a gift card, spending more than $2.2 billion.

“Mother’s Day is extremely unique and personal for millions of consumers, and families this year will look for different ways to enjoy their time with mom,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “While some will splurge, others will search high and low for the perfect, practical gift, knowing that she likes any gift that comes from the heart.”

Most shoppers will head to department stores (33.4%), while others will shop at specialty stores (28.2%) or discount stores (24.8%). With shoppers ready to get out of the house after a long winter, fewer shoppers will be shopping online this year (25% vs. 29% last year.) The survey shows that 18- to 24-year-olds who own smartphones and tablets are most likely to use these devices to research products and compare prices for gifts (46%), and are most likely to use their tablets to purchase a gift (30.2%) – but this age group won’t necessarily be the biggest spenders compared to other age groups: 25- to 34-year-olds plan to spend the most on mom, at an average of $244.32; 18- to 24-year-olds will spend an average of $214.81.

The majority of shoppers plan to buy for their mother or stepmother (62.5%), while 23.2 percent will shop for their wife, 9.8 percent will shop for their daughter, 8.9 percent will shop for their sister and 7.4 percent plan to splurge on their grandmother.

The NRF 2015 Mother’s Day Consumer Spending Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Mother’s Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The poll of 6,285 consumers was conducted April 1-9, 2015.