Moms across the country are in for a nice Mother's Day. Families are planning to splurge on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch and apparel, according to a retail survey released on April 27.

Mother's Day
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The National Retail Federation's (NRF) 2015 Mother's Day Spending Survey finds that Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on mom this year, up nearly $10 from 2014 and the highest amount in the survey's 12-year history.

"This could be the biggest Mother's Day we've seen on record. When it comes to these types of consumer holidays, it can really paint a real picture of how people are feeling about their finances. During a down economy, a lot of people cut back on gift spending. In a good economy, it's easier for families to dip into that type of discretionary spending," said Kathy Grannis, spokesperson with the NRF. "The fact that consumers are comfortable spending on mom this year really paints a picture of a consumer who does realize that there are improvements in the economy and overall, their confidence is up a little bit."

According to the survey, 80 percent of consumers will pick up a greeting card for mom spending more than $786 million. More than two-thirds will buy flowers and spend $2.4 billion. Apparel and clothing items will also be popular.

Special activities with mom also rank high on the list with families planning to spend $3.8 billion on a special brunch or some type of event.

People also plan to surprise mom with electronic items like a new smartphone or e-reader, personal services like a spa day, housewares and gardening tools and books and CDs. Two in five plan to get mom a gift card.

"We're encouraged by the positive shift we've seen in spending on discretionary and gift items from consumers so far this year, certainly boding well for retailers across all spectrums who are planning to promote Mother's Day specials, including home improvement, jewelry, apparel and other specialty retailers as well as restaurants," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in an emailed press release on April 27.

The majority of shoppers plan to hit department or specialty stores to purchase gifts for mom. According to the survey, fewer plan to shop online this year compared to 2014.

Over 60 percent of shoppers will purchase gifts for their mother or stepmother, 23.2 percent will shop for their wife and 9.8 percent will shop for their daughter.

 

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