Gifts for Mother’s Day: What Moms Really Want This Year

U.S. consumers spent $34.1 billion on Mother's Day last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), making it one of the most significant retail moments on the calendar, second only to the winter holidays in average per-person spend.

Across the Atlantic, U.K. shoppers were forecast to splash out £18 billion for their version of the holiday in March, which is a 15% jump year-over-year, per Retail Technology Innovation Hub (RTIH).

In other words, this is not a niche occasion. It's a spending event that rivals the heavyweights.

The good news for brands is that Mother's Day falls on May 10, 2026, in the U.S., which means there's still time to get in front of shoppers before they check out (literally).

But the clock is ticking, and the brands that will reap the biggest rewards aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They're the ones who understand what moms actually want to receive and make it genuinely easy for gift-givers to find and choose the right gifts for Mother’s Day.

Mother's Day by the Numbers: $6.8 Billion in Bling

Before diving into Mother’s Day shopping trends, it's worth stepping back to look at the size of the prize, because the data paints a pretty compelling picture.

In the U.S., the classics still reign supreme. Flowers (74%), greeting cards (73%), and special outings like dinner or brunch (61%) top the most popular gift categories, according to the NRF. But the real money is in jewelry ($6.8 billion), followed by special outings ($6.3 billion) and gift cards ($3.5 billion).

When it comes to where consumers are buying, online leads the way (36%), followed by department stores (32%), specialty stores (29%), and local or small businesses (25%). Mother's Day shoppers aren't clustering in one place, which means having consistent, high-quality product content across every channel is an absolute must.

Perhaps the most telling stat of all is that nearly half of U.S. consumers (48%) say the most important thing is finding a gift that feels unique or different, while 42% are prioritizing something that creates a special memory.

In the U.K., where Mother's Day fell on March 15 this year, the picture is similar in spirit if slightly more cautious in tone. GetSavvy notes that 65% of shoppers celebrated (88% in households with children), but according to GlobalData, most intended to keep spending around the £50 mark.

Interestingly, RTIH found that 63% of UK Mother’s Day consumers said they'd “spend more if there were more interesting gift options available,” so the appetite is there.

The Top Gifts for Mother’s Day

According to Salsify's “2026 Consumer Research,” women are the top buyers across fashion and apparel, health and wellness, personal care and beauty, food and beverage, furniture and home goods, household supplies, and toy and baby.

That pretty much covers most retail categories, which means that Mother's Day is a direct commercial opportunity for brands operating in virtually any of these verticals.

So what are people actually buying?

Beauty and Personal Care

Beauty is, unsurprisingly, one of the biggest Mother's Day gift categories, and retailers like Sephora have built their entire seasonal strategy around it. Their Mother's Day gifting hub spans makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance at every price point, with same-day delivery built in to catch the inevitable wave of last-minute shoppers.

At the premium end, options like Gucci fragrances and Maison Margiela scents signal that shoppers want something that feels genuinely indulgent and special.

This holds true in the U.K. too, where GlobalData shows beauty and jewelry are both expected to outperform other categories as shoppers gravitate toward higher-value, more considered gifts.

Personal care and beauty is one of the most female-dominated purchasing categories in Salsify's consumer research, which means the women buying these products know what good looks like.

Product pages need to work hard: Think gifting-specific search terms ("gift sets," "for her," "Mother's Day beauty"), clear price-range filters, and curated bundle options that help decision-making.

Image Source: Sephora

Fashion, Apparel, and Accessories

Scarves, tote bags, elevated basics, and everyday accessories are all performing well, especially when they come with a personalization option, like a family name, a meaningful date, or a short phrase.

Target has leaned into this well, running Mother's Day promotions with 20% off women's dresses, shoes, and jewelry, making it easy for shoppers to find something stylish without overthinking the budget. It's a good example of how accessible price points and strong seasonal positioning can work together.

Image Source: Target

For brands in this space, the key is ensuring your product content reflects how shoppers are searching during the gifting season. Women lead purchases in fashion and apparel, per Salsify's research, and the trends shaping how they shop are evolving fast.

Home, Food, and Drink

In the U.S., special outings like brunch and dinner remain a cornerstone of Mother's Day, with consumers spending $6.3 billion on experiences last year (NRF). But shoppers are increasingly open to elevated at-home celebrations, and premium food and drink gifting is rising alongside it.

On the gifting side, home category staples are performing well, including kitchen gadgets, cookbooks, gourmet chocolate, fine wine, personalized gift baskets, and decorative homewares.

Brands like Williams Sonoma, Anthropologie, and even Target's home section are well-positioned here, offering everything from a Le Creuset Dutch oven to a beautifully packaged candle set.

Image Source: Anthropologie

Similarly, Goldbelly has a whole section on its website dedicated to Mother’s Day inspiration, most of which is made up of premium or luxury cakes and nibbles.

Image Source: Goldbelly

Experiences and Gift Cards

Gift card spending rose 7.3% year-over-year, and spending on special outings like brunch and dinner rose 4.8%, according to research from Northwestern's Spiegel Research Center. The NRF also found that 36% of men plan to give an experience in 2026, up from just 29% in 2019.

Brands like Airbnb (Experiences) and spa chains like Massage Envy have all leaned into this, making it easier to gift something meaningful that isn't a physical product. Digital gift cards and experience vouchers still need great product content.

A vague description, a low-resolution image, or a clunky checkout flow will lose shoppers just as quickly as a poorly merchandised physical product page.

Personalized and Meaningful Gifts

According to eRank, shoppers are choosing based on what analysts describe as "emotional utility," which is the feeling a gift creates, not just how it looks on a shelf.

Nowhere is this more visible than in jewelry. The strongest demand is for story-driven pieces, such as birthstone and birth flower designs, handwriting engravings, and pieces that represent family relationships. Brands like Mejuri, Pandora, and BaubleBar have built entire product lines around exactly this kind of meaningful personalization.

Image Source: Mejuri

Personalization resonates beyond jewelry, too. GetSavvy found that 58% of U.K. shoppers bought a customized Mother’s Day gift this year.

For brands, this is both a product opportunity and a content one: If personalization options exist but aren't surfaced clearly on the product page, then shoppers simply won't find them.

How To Boost Sales: 5 Ways Brands Can Win Mother's Day

The data is clear on what shoppers want. Here's how you can make sure you’re ready to deliver it.

1. Curate Gift-Ready Product Pages

Dedicated gift hubs like Target's and Sephora's work because shoppers can filter by price, recipient, and category without having to dig.

Brands should take the same approach at the product level, making sure PDPs include gifting-specific attributes like occasion tags, "ideal for" descriptors, price-range metadata, and bundle options.

2. Lead With Personalization

If your products can be customized, that needs to be front and center on the product page and surfaced clearly in search filters. Shoppers who want to add a name, a date, or a personal message shouldn't have to hunt for that option.

3. Optimize for Thoughtful, Not Just Popular

Nearly half of U.S. consumers say finding a unique or different gift is their top priority, and 42% are focused on creating a special memory, according to NRF.

Shoppers need to understand why a product is the right choice for mom, including what it feels like, what story it tells, and what makes it worth giving. Rich, specific product descriptions that go beyond the spec sheet work well here.

4. Don’t Overlook Women As Buyers

It's easy to assume Mother's Day gifting is all about partners and kids buying for mom. But Salsify's consumer research tells a more nuanced story: Women are the dominant purchasers across nearly every relevant gift category.

That means a significant portion of Mother's Day shoppers are women buying for themselves, or for the other mother figures in their lives. Understanding the full picture of who's actually shopping, including parents, is a good place to start.

5. Prepare for Both Early Planners and Last-Minute Shoppers

There are two types of consumers before Mother’s Day: The "Early Birds" and the "Saturday Scramblers." The data from Home of Direct Commerce doesn't lie: Online flower sales surge 67% the day before the holiday.

Product content needs to be live and fully optimized well before May 10 to capture the planners, but fast-shipping and same-day delivery options need to be clear on product pages for the procrastinators.

Great Gifts Start With Great Product Content

Shoppers are spending big; they know what they want, and the categories leading the charge aren't going anywhere. What’s changing is how people find the gifts they buy, and how quickly they expect brands to meet them in those moments.

The brands that will succeed on May 10 aren't necessarily the ones with the widest product range or the biggest promotional budget. They're the ones whose product content is complete enough to surface in an AI gift guide, compelling enough to stop a scroll on TikTok, and clear enough to convert a shopper who's been searching for the right thing for 20 minutes.

Mom deserves better than a last-minute panic buy. And with the right product content strategy in place, brands can make sure she gets it, while capturing their share of a $34.1 billion opportunity in the process.