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Mother's Day is the yearly tribute to mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures that has grown into one of the largest gift buying occasions on the US retail calendar. In the United States it always falls on the second Sunday of May, which places the 2026 date on May 10. The date shifts within a narrow window each year because it is tied to the calendar day, not a fixed number, but it always lands on a Sunday in early to mid May.

The occasion sits alongside winter holidays and Valentine's Day as one of the retail sector's most closely tracked spending events. The National Retail Federation, working with Prosper Insights and Analytics, has surveyed US shoppers about Mother's Day plans for close to two decades. That survey is the source most retailers and analysts lean on for category level detail, participation rates, and year over year comparisons.

For 2026, the NRF projects total US spending will reach a record $38 billion, with 84 percent of US adults saying they plan to celebrate. Average spending per person is projected at $284.25, also a record. Those figures make Mother's Day one of the clearest examples of a occasion driven purely by gifting rather than by markdowns or clearance activity, so understanding where the spending actually goes is useful for anyone shopping the season.

Unlike winter holiday shopping, which spreads across dozens of categories and multiple recipients, Mother's Day spending concentrates on a single relationship. Most shoppers are buying for their own mother, a spouse who is also a mother, a mother in law, or a grandmother, and that narrow focus is part of why category level data is tracked so closely.

Spending Trend Over Recent Years

Mother's Day spending has climbed most years since the pandemic period, with occasional dips tied to broader consumer sentiment. The NRF's own historical figures show total spending moving from a record $35.7 billion in 2023, down slightly to $33.5 billion in 2024, back up to $34.1 billion in 2025, and now to a projected $38 billion in 2026.

Per person spending has followed a similar, though not identical, pattern across the same years. The table below lays out both figures side by side so the trend is easier to read at a glance.

The jump projected for 2026 is notable because it breaks well past the prior record set in 2023. Analysts covering the survey have pointed to jewelry and experience gifts as the categories pulling the average higher, a pattern that shows up clearly once the category breakdown is examined on its own.

What People Actually Buy

Jewelry leads Mother's Day spending by dollar value, at a projected $7.5 billion in 2026, even though it is not the single most popular category by number of shoppers. Special outings such as brunch or dinner come in second at $6.4 billion, followed by electronics at $4.4 billion, flowers at $3.2 billion, and greeting cards at $1.3 billion.

Popularity by share of shoppers tells a different story than the dollar totals. Flowers are purchased by 75 percent of shoppers, greeting cards by 74 percent, special outings by 63 percent, gift cards by 55 percent, and clothing or accessories by 51 percent, according to the NRF survey.

The gap between what most people buy and where the money actually concentrates is worth noting for shoppers comparing gift ideas. A relatively small share of shoppers buying jewelry still outweighs the much larger group buying flowers, simply because jewelry carries a far higher average price per gift.

Generational Differences in Gifting

Younger shoppers report notably higher planned spending than older generations, based on NRF's generational breakdown. Gen Z shoppers plan to spend an average of $922 on Mother's Day gifts, ahead of millennials at $803, with Gen X at $311 and baby boomers trailing at $168.

The categories chosen also differ by age group. Gen X and baby boomers lean heavily on flowers, at 67 percent and 66 percent respectively, while Gen Z and millennials spread their spending across a wider mix that includes jewelry, at 60 percent and 56 percent, beauty and personal care items, gift cards, and clothing or shoes.

Dining out shows a similar generational split. Millennials plan to spend $120 on average on dining experiences for Mother's Day, more than any other generation, with Gen Z close behind at $85 on average.

When Shoppers Start Buying

Mother's Day shopping tends to start earlier than many other single day gifting occasions. Survey data has found that roughly 70 percent of shoppers plan their Mother's Day purchases at least two weeks in advance, which pushes meaningful shopping activity into late April even though the holiday itself falls in mid May.

That early planning window matters for anyone comparing offers, since many retailers front load their best promotions into the two to three weeks before the date rather than concentrating everything into the final days. A smaller group of shoppers still wait until the final days, usually chasing flowers, greeting cards, or last minute dining reservations rather than jewelry or electronics that need shipping time.

Gift categories with shipping requirements tend to be purchased earliest in the cycle. Jewelry and electronics buyers typically finalize their purchase well before the holiday weekend, while flower and card buyers make up the bulk of purchases in the final three or four days.

Online Versus In Store Shopping Patterns

Where shoppers actually buy has shifted gradually over the past several survey cycles. In 2024, online and department stores were tied as the top destination at 34 percent each, with specialty stores at 30 percent, local or small businesses at 24 percent, and discount stores at 23 percent.

In 2025, online pulled slightly ahead at 36 percent, ahead of department stores at 32 percent and specialty stores at 29 percent. For 2026, the two channels have converged again, with online and department stores tied at 33 percent each, followed by specialty stores at 29 percent and discount stores at 26 percent.

The consistent takeaway across all three years is that no single channel dominates Mother's Day shopping. Shoppers spread purchases fairly evenly across online retailers, department stores, and specialty shops rather than concentrating in one place.

Why Mother's Day Became a Retail Occasion

Mother's Day in its modern US form traces back to Anna Jarvis, who organized the first official observance in 1908 and campaigned for it to become a recognized national holiday. President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law as an official US holiday in 1914.

The occasion's growth into a major commercial event happened gradually over the following decades, as florists, card companies, and later jewelers and restaurants built marketing calendars around it. Today it functions similarly to other major gifting occasions, with retailers across nearly every category treating it as a scheduled demand spike worth planning inventory and promotions around.

Regional and International Variation

Not every country observes Mother's Day on the same date as the United States, which matters for anyone assuming a global promotion calendar. The United Kingdom observes Mothering Sunday, which follows the older Christian calendar and typically falls in March, well ahead of the US date.

Many countries in continental Europe, along with much of Latin America and parts of Asia, hold their own Mother's Day on dates that range from early March through the second Sunday of May. Shoppers outside the US should confirm the local date directly rather than assuming any global retailer aligns everything to the American calendar.

Even within countries that share the same date, spending levels and preferred categories can differ sharply based on local retail habits and disposable income. The US figures cited throughout this page reflect the American market specifically, and should be treated as a reference point rather than a global average.

Anna Jarvis's Fight Against the Holiday She Created

The woman most responsible for Mother's Day becoming a US holiday spent much of her later life trying to undo what it had become. Anna Jarvis intended the day as a quiet, personal expression of gratitude toward one's own mother, and she grew increasingly angry as florists, card companies, and confectioners built a commercial industry around it within just a few years of the 1914 law.

Her opposition was not quiet or symbolic. In 1925 she was removed by police and arrested for disturbing the peace after disrupting a fundraising convention held by the American War Mothers in Philadelphia, where carnations, the flower she had chosen as the holiday's original symbol, were being sold to raise money.

Jarvis spent decades afterward campaigning to have Mother's Day legally revoked, going as far as lobbying for its removal from the national calendar into the 1940s. She reportedly spent what remained of her personal savings on legal fees and public campaigns fighting the same commercial industry that had grown up around the holiday she started.

She died in 1948 in a Pennsylvania sanitarium, largely destitute and never having profited from a holiday that, by then, was already generating substantial nationwide retail spending. The gap between Jarvis's original vision and the multibillion dollar occasion Mother's Day has become today is one of the more striking examples of a US retail holiday outgrowing its founder's intent.

Timing Advice for 2026

With the US date falling on May 10 in 2026, and roughly 70 percent of shoppers starting their search at least two weeks out, late April is realistically when the shopping window opens for most people. Retailers who run early promotions tend to launch them in that same late April stretch rather than waiting until the final days before the holiday.

Because online and department stores are essentially tied as the top shopping destinations this year, comparing offers across both channels rather than committing to one early is likely to turn up the better deal. Categories worth watching closely based on the spending data are jewelry, dining and experience gifts, and flowers, since those three account for the largest share of total dollars spent industry wide.