People Switch to Traditional Gifts for Mother’s Day, Moms Prefer Daily Help

As Mother’s Day is getting closer, the rush to purchase a gift already started. But many find that they already bought their moms a smartphone, a tablet and other fancy gadgets their mothers may or may not really find useful. So what’s next?

According to a Brand Keys survey of 5,200 men and women, ages 18-65, 92% of the respondents plan to celebrate Mother’s Day one way or another, and the final spending is estimated at about USD 18.6 billion. The average spend is USD 171.00 and that’s 5% up from 2012. This survey suggests that people will focus more on traditional gifts.

Another recent survey, commissioned by Groupon and conducted by Research Now this time, queried 1,002 respondents and revealed that the major challenges are finding the perfect gift (47%), remaining in the pre-established budget (42%) and finding a gifts that suggests they care (37%).

The most popular gifts are brunch or dinner outing (44%), spa or salon service (30%), jewelry and accessories (28%), family activity (21%). 55% of people buy traditional gifts like flowers and greeting cards and 95% of the respondents mentioned they plan to buy something extra next to the traditional gift.

The majority of moms said that they would accept with quiet disappointment a bad gift (84%) and only 9% reported that they re-gift the item. True, 2% admitted they would make the gift giver feel guilty when receiving a bad gift. However, moms say that it is worse not to receive any gift than to get a thoughtless gift.

According to this study, the average spend on Mother’s Day is USD 73 – and you can easily see the huge difference from the study made by Brand Keys that ended up with an average with almost USD 100 more. Most definitely it depends on the target audience interviewed.

Finally, a survey conducted by P&G revealed that over 80% of U.S. moms actually prefer daily help to big gifts on Mother’s Day. Constant gestures means more to them and helps them more than a gifts on a given occasion. P&G currently has a campaign that emphasize this conclusion.

Well, I cannot say I find conclusions to be really surprising. I too consider that it is lovely to show your appreciation as often as you have the opportunity, not as an obligation on a holiday, but as an ordinary conduct. On the other hand, I admit I think it is beautiful to mark a special occasion with a thoughtful gift – it is always nice to receive presents, as small (and even as uninspired) as they may be. And I don’t think this is valid only for Mother’s Day, for any special occasion. How about you: have you already purchased a gift for Mother’s Day?

There are many agencies – amongst them Kaplow PR, Zimmerman Agency & Beckerman Public Relations – who gift their employees and clients year round – which is probably the best way to do it, regardless of if its Mother’s Day or not.