Mother’s Day by the Numbers

Housekeeping, cleaning, cooking, chauffering, homework help—what are the everyday tasks the average mother performs worth? Insure.com’s annual assessment, based on median wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sets Mom’s 2015 market value at $65,284. That’s an increase of 3.7% percent from last year, up 9.1% from 2013.

Though mothers are rarely compensated monetarily for this work, Mother’s Day (this Sunday, May 10 if you haven’t already been overwhelmed by ads and other media) is an opportunity for her children to recognize her contributions.

According to market research firm IBISWorld, Mother’s Day ranks fourth on the holiday spending list behind Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. It accounts for roughly 6.5% of holiday spending overall and adds up to roughly $18.1 billion in total. Three items represent the majority of that spending:

• $2.3 billion on flowers
• $2.98 billion on outings (restaurant meals, live shows, movies)
• $3.08 billion on jewelry

Electronic gadgets are an increasingly popular gift. A record $2.3 billion was spent on tech for Mom in 2013, up from $1.6 billion in 2012.

If you haven’t yet picked a gift for your mother, you might want to pay heed to a survey by technology company SOASTA which found that some 40% of moms were disappointed with their Mother’s Day gifts. Another survey by coupon site RetailMeNot revealed that while just 8% of mothers said they would like flowers, 13% would prefer a spa day and 27% would rather have gift cards they can use at their own discretion.

Does your messaging target Moms? We have extensive experience working with this prized demographic, and can help you optimize your marketing efforts. Contact us to learn more.