Shoppers shrug off Brexit blues, with Mother’s Day spending forecast to reach a record £1.23bn

Consistent with other recent calendar events, we see how shoppers are putting aside their financial concerns to splash out on special occasions. In 2019 we expect UK shoppers to spend £1.23bn on Mother’s Day celebrations, cementing the event’s position as the most value trading event outside of Christmas. 43% of Mother’s Day shoppers plan to spend more this year, compared to 2018.

Multi-channel retailers can expect busy Mother’s Day trade as 54% of those celebrating the event plan to buy online. But with 51% seeking inspiration at the supermarket, there is a lot play for in-store, especially considering 38% of Mother’s Day shoppers expect to leave their shopping until the last few days.

Key findings:

• Who – and how – will be celebrating the event?
  • 64 percent of UK shoppers are planning to celebrate Mother’s Day this year.

Amongst those planning to celebrate the event:

• Organising Mother’s Day presents for others (e.g. their partner, their partner’s mother) will be on the to-do list for 43 percent of shoppers.
  • And 32 percent of shoppers will have to sort their own children’s gift for themselves.
  • 54 percent will be shopping online this year for gifts.
  • As for buying in-store, 61 percent of shoppers agreed that Mother’s Day products in shops are ‘boring and lack inspiration’.
  • If better products were available (online or instore) 49 percent of shoppers said they would be prepared to spend more.

• When do Mother’s Day shoppers start planning?
  • The majority of shoppers (26 percent) will leave making any plans until the week before the event – though 17 percent admitted that they would be leaving it to the last minute and 21 percent said they’d make some plans a few days before the day. That said, 13 percent of shoppers said they’d be planning at least three weeks or longer before the occasion. 

• Where are Mother’s Day shoppers looking for inspiration this year?
  • Supermarkets topped the list with 51 percent of shoppers on the hunt for ideas here. In second place with 27 percent, was Google.
  • 16 percent would be relying on word of mouth e.g. friends or family for inspiration – the same figure would be searching on Facebook for inspiration.  
  • A grocery retailer’s website and Pinterest was the go-to place for 13 percent of shoppers. Going to a food brand’s website, YouTube or asking a friend for thoughts via WhatsApp or Facebook messenger were the routes for 10 percent of shoppers apiece.