Tapping Into Customer Emotions Drives Mother's Day Sales

When shoppers are scouring the malls searching for the right gift to buy mom for Mother's Day, their purchasing decisions are often very emotionally driven. But advertisers and retailers often fail to tap into this crucial aspect, instead treating Mother's Day like any other run-of-the-mill holiday.

"An awful lot of Mother's Day advertising is too much of 'Your Holiday Here'-type advertising," says Atlanta-based copywriter and marketing strategist Linda Morse. Retailers merely drop "Mother's Day" into ads that would normally say, for example, "Christmas" or "Halloween." Many ads simply remind shoppers that "Mother's Day is May 11th." No appeal to the emotions; just the facts.

The reason advertisers often fail to strike an emotional chord with Mother's Day ads, she believes, is because it can be difficult to pull off. "Instead they will just sell the mall: 'Don't forget it's Mother's Day, and all the stores at the mall are open with wonderful gifts for your mom.'"

But from the consumer's standpoint, Morse says, many people think, "What could I possibly do that would begin to thank her?" This leaves customers feeling that their choice of Mother's Day gift is inadequate.

Mother's Day Is Big Business

Consumers will spend $15.8 billion on Mother's Day this year, with the average expenditure of $138.63, down slightly from last year's $139.14, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Phil Rist of marketing research firm BIGresearch, which conducted the NRF survey, attributes this year's dip in spending to rising gas prices and other economic issues.

Of the 84.2 percent of consumers celebrating Mother's Day this year, most will buy one major gift for mom. And this is very apparent in the jewelry category, according to the NRF. Consumers planning on buying her something sparkly will spend a total of $2.7 billion, compared to $2.1 billion last year.