5 ways to boost sales on Mother’s Day
Last year, Australians collectively spent almost a billion dollars on Mother’s Day. Here’s how to tap into the mother of all retail opportunities.
As Mother’s Day 2025 approaches, children young and old are preparing to make the second Sunday in May extra special for Mum.
For shoppers, Mother’s Day is an opportunity to show the mother figures in their lives how much they’re loved and appreciated. For retailers, it’s a highly lucrative sales opportunity, with Aussies expected to spend around one billion dollars1 on flowers, gifts and celebrations this year.
Here’s how to make sure you can tap into one of the top spending dates on the marketing calendar… and divert some of that spend your way.
Time Mother's Day marketing right
It’s important to give shoppers plenty of time to make their purchasing decisions, which means you need to promote your Mother’s Day offers early. Google Trends data shows that while search queries peak in the seven-day run-up to Mother’s Day, searches start to pick up five weeks before the big day. This year that means your marketing should be underway by the end of the first week of April.
“Start a month out, particularly if you’re an online business as you need to make sure you manage people’s expectations around cut-off delivery dates,” says retail expert Sally Coates of The Retail Mentors. “You also need to give people the time to be able to think it through and have those conversations, which usually happen between the other parent and the children, at home.”
Offer great value this Mother's Day
Cost-of-living pressures mean that shoppers are more mindful than ever when it comes to discretionary spending. Rather than splashing out on the first thing that grabs their attention, gift-buyers will be looking for something that’s meaningful or delivers value.
However, the emotional aspect to Mother’s Day means “there’s less of an effect than there would be on the average purchase,” says Anastasia Lloyd-Wallis, head of insights at Retail Doctor Group.
To build on that emotional connection, while also delivering value, Mother's Day promotion ideas could include buy-one-get-one-for-less options for those shopping for multiple women in their lives, or those who appreciate a treat for themselves as well as for Mum. Personalisation is a huge drawcard, too, and offering unique customised experiences and products will make a gift stand out from the crowd.
Bricks and mortar retailer?
Mother’s Day lends a once-a-year opportunity for bricks-and-mortar retailers to get creative with an in-store activation. Think a VIP mother-daughter shopping night with canapés and Champagne, or an after-school make-a-card event for kids, with some discount gift ideas for the pocket-money crowd.
“One of the big trends we saw in 2024 was what we dubbed retail-tainment,” says Lloyd-Wallis. “In-store events attract consumers who want to be entertained, who want to make shopping an experience, and it helps the retailer differentiate from its competitors on something other than price. If you can create a great experience, it will inspire ongoing loyalty as the customer feels they are part of the brand community.”
"People are really price-conscious at the moment, so you have to show value."
Make Mother's Day shopping easy
How easy or difficult it is to shop — in store or online — is a key metric of customer satisfaction. And with more pressure than ever on our schedules and attention spans, it pays not to waste your customers’ time.
“You have to make it simple,” says Coates. “Theme items for different interests as a merchandising strategy in-store so that people aren’t overwhelmed and can find something easily.
“Creating categories and bundling items at a certain price point makes the process simple and clear. And make it a one-stop shop: if you have an area for women who love to read, add themed gift bags and cards so shoppers can buy everything they need all at once – and you’ve just increased your sales.”
For online retailers, a Mother’s Day edit or vertical, as well as emails that pull together a curated collection of gifts for the ‘foodie’, ‘sport’, or ‘luxe Mum’, for example, will make adding to cart simple.
And don’t forget the after-sales action, by offering free gift-wrapping, click-and-collect services, or Express Post.
Prep staff
A little extra training in the lead-up to Mother’s Day will result in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. Ensure all customer service reps are up to speed with new products and understand how to cross-sell or upsell — such as suggesting cards, gift-wrapping or complementary products. This might mean holding a training session and offering role-playing, advice or sales scripts before Mother’s Day.
“In our recent research, the number-one thing that consumers are looking for is friendly staff,” says Lloyd-Wallis. “What we’ve also seen is that consumers are picky in the engagements they want to have, so the importance of having highly trained staff who can understand when to have a discussion and when to keep it transactional can make a big difference to the bottom line.”
Be sensitive this Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day isn’t a joyful celebration for everyone, and ill-timed marketing emails have the power to damage customer relationships rather than strengthen them. The Thoughtful Marketing Movement encourages retailers to offer consumers the opportunity to opt out of Mother’s Day marketing messages using email preferences. This proactive approach shows consideration and can stop unhappy customers from unsubscribing altogether.
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