Report: Consumers to spend less on Mother’s Day

Washington, D.C. Americans plan to spend less on Mother’s Day this year due to the struggling economy, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Mother’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch.

The survey reported that consumers plan to spend, on average, $123.89 per person, compared with $138.63 last year. Total Mother’s Day spending is expected to reach $14.10 billion, which is slightly more than Easter.

Based on the four-in-five Americans (83.3%) who will celebrate Mother’s Day, the majority will focus on the women with whom they are closest. Most people (62.4%) will purchase gifts for their mother/stepmother or wife (21.7%). They plan to scale back on gifts for daughters (8.8% vs. 9.4% in 2008), friends (6.8% vs. 7.1% in 2008) and godmothers (1.6% vs. 2.1% in 2008) in order to save some money.

The majority of consumers (66.8%) will buy flowers for mom, spending a total of $1.9 billion on those purchases. Slightly more than half (54.8%) will treat mom to a special outing, such as dinner or brunch. These overall excursions are expected to total $2.7 billion. People will also spend $2.3 billion on jewelry; $1.5 billion on gift cards; $1.2 billion on clothing or accessories and $1.1 million on personal services, such as spa visits.

In the search for the best bargains, 30.2% of Mother’s Day shoppers will purchase mom’s gift from discount stores, while 27.2% will choose presents from her favorite department store.