Mother’s Day Statistics [2024]: 14 Surprising Facts About the Holiday

Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 14, 2023. It’s held on the second Sunday in May every year and is hugely popular in the U.S., with the number of bouquets sent to American moms numbering in the tens of millions every year.

Mother’s Day was not always about flowers, greeting cards, and brunch plans, though. Here, we look at some information about the history of the holiday as well as some statistics about how popular the day is around the world — and the top gifts for mom.

Key Takeaways:

• Americans plan to spend $35.7 billion on Mother’s Day-related gifts and activities in 2023.
• 84% of Americans said they would celebrate Mother’s Day in some way this year.
• Mother’s Day is the third most lucrative holiday of the year for florists, following only Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
• There are an estimated 2 billion mothers around the world right now, and Mother’s Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries.

In 2023, Americans plan to spend $35.7 billion in total on Mother’s Day gifts and activities. That’s a whole lot of daisies and spa gift cards!

This figure is up almost $4 billion from the previous year. In fact, expected spending on Mother’s Day has gone up steadily since 2018 (yes, even during the pandemic).

(Sources: National Retail Federation)

In a 2023 National Retail Federation survey, 84% of respondents said they plan to celebrate Mother’s Day in some way. Consumers are planning to spend an average of $274.02 on their Mother’s Day celebrations, which is almost $30 more than last year.

(Source: National Retail Federation)

Flowers are one of the hot-ticket items on Mother’s Day, with 74% of respondents to the National Retail Federation’s 2023 survey saying that they planned to pick out some blooms for mom this year.

It's estimated that Americans will spend around $3.2 billion on flowers alone for the holiday.

(Source: National Retail Federation)

For florists, Mother’s Day is the third most lucrative holiday of the year, according to the Society of American Florists. The blossoming spring holiday follows only Valentine’s Day and Christmas/Hanukkah when it comes to sales volume.

Mother’s Day flowers account for 26% of all holiday transactions at flower shops in the U.S. Valentine’s Day makes up 30% and Christmas/Hanukkah also makes up 26%, but the dollar volume is a tad higher, putting it ahead of Mother’s Day. The other holidays that made the list were Easter/Passover (9%), Thanksgiving (8%), and Father’s Day (2%).

(Source: Society of American Florists)

Mother’s Day, or some form of holiday meant to honor moms, is celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world. Most, like the U.S., celebrate the day on the second Sunday of May.

Other countries, including many in Eastern Europe, celebrate their family matriarchs on International Women’s Day, March 8, while several Arab nations celebrate it on the day of Spring Equinox, March 21.

(Source: ChartsBin, Petal Republic)

Mother’s Day is the third most popular holiday when it comes to card sales, according to the Greeting Card Association. Americans purchase an incredible 113 million cards for the holiday every year.

Flowers and a card for mom are a pretty standard gift, so it makes sense that Mother’s Day ranks behind only Christmas cards (1.3 billion) and Valentine’s Day cards (145 million) when it comes to total sales.

(Source: Greeting Card Association)

According to National Retail Federation research, the top purchases for moms in 2023 will be greeting cards, followed by flowers and special outings (which includes things like dining out).

Spending on special outings will likely be up in 2023 — with 60% of respondents saying they planned to take the matriarch in their lives out.

(Source: National Retail Federation)

Spending on your typical hot Mother’s Day commodities — flowers and jewelry — are both expected to be up in 2023. The percentage of planned spending for flowers went up to 74% from 72% in 2022. Forty-four percent of respondents plan to purchase jewelry for the holiday, which is up from 41% in 2022.

Planned spending on special outings, books/CDs, gift cards, and clothing and accessories are also likely to see upticks in 2023.

(Source: National Retail Federation)

The National Retail Federation’s 2023 survey found that 47% of shoppers prioritize finding a gift that’s unique or different, and 42% value finding a gift that creates a special memory. This might be why 60% of shoppers are planning a special outing, such as a concert or sporting event. This is up from 57% in 2022.

(Source: National Retail Federation)

So, just how many mothers (or mother figures) around the world will be getting gifts this year? Those numbers are hard to crunch, but it’s estimated that there are about 2.2 billion mothers living in the world right now, with 77 million of those moms living in the U.S.

Given what we know about how many countries around the world have their own version of Mother’s Day, that’s a whole lot of celebrating mom.

(Source: Soundvision, United States Census Bureau)

If you needed another reason to plan something special for the mom in your life this year, a 2021 survey on the state of motherhood in the U.S. from Motherly found that 93% of moms in the country reported feeling burned out, at least occasionally.

That number is up 7 percentage points from the previous year, and many of the survey respondents attributed the burnout to issues such as attempting to create a work and home life balance and taking on the brunt of childcare and household duties in their homes.

(Source: Motherly)

While more than a hundred countries celebrate Mother’s Day in some way, the festivities and traditions involved in the holiday, and when it takes place, vary a great deal depending on where you are. For example, in Ethiopia, families gather in the fall for a three-day festival involving songs and large feasts meant to honor motherhood.

In Mexico, the day falls on May 10, no matter what day of the week it is, and involves flowers, music, food, large celebrations, and a morning serenade of the song “Las Mananitas” from mariachi singers.

Over in Thailand, the holiday is held in August to mark the birthday of Queen Sirikit, and celebrations and parades are held throughout the day, including ceremonies of respect held for moms at their children’s schools.

(Sources: History.com, Time, Taste of Thailand)

The history of the Mother’s Day holiday has a few starting points. Celebrations of mothers can be traced back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, who celebrated mother goddesses like Rhea and Cybele. “Mothering Sunday” was an early Christian festival.

Mother’s Day, as we know it today, originated in the United States. It was made into an official holiday more than a century ago, but the holiday’s original creator had different intentions when she put a day to honor mothers in motion in the early 20th century.

Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist and suffragette who wrote the lyrics for “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” wrote a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in 1870 to call for mothers to promote peace. She also campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day.” This laid the groundwork for Anna Jarvis.

Jarvis, a woman from Philadelphia, held a service memorial for her late mother on May 12, 1907. Jarvis’ mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, had organized women’s groups to promote health and friendship. For example, she started “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to help women learn to care for children and “Mother’s Friendship Day,” which brought mothers together after the Civil War.

The following year, Jarvis sent 500 white carnations to Andrews Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia to honor her mother, which started the tradition of wearing and giving carnations on Mother’s Day. This is considered by many to be the first Mother’s Day celebration. She started to campaign for a national day to celebrate mothers.

Within five years of Jarvis’ 1907 tribute to her mother, every state in the U.S. had started observing the day. President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday 108 years ago, in 1914. As time went on, Jarvis became displeased with her creation, taking issue with the commercialization of Mother’s Day.

(Source: History.com, Legacy Project, Time, Britannica)

The origins of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom stem from “Mothering Sunday,” which is on the fourth Sunday of Lent and stems from when Christians would return to their “mother church” for a special service. Over time, the American idea of Mother’s Day as a secular holiday spread across the pond, and it merged with Mothering Sunday. Today, the UK continues to observe Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which means the date is different each year.

(Source: History.com, Arena Flowers)

Planning a special day for mom can be pricey. Here are a few ways to keep the costs down.

• Plan ahead. If Mother’s Day this year coincides with you rethinking how to manage your money, planning ahead is a great way to save. There are a few industries that make a large profit on Mother’s Day, like florists, restaurants, and jewelers. If you plan your gift ahead of time, you may be able to score some deals that simply wouldn’t be an option so close to the holiday when so many people are scrambling for the best bouquets or heart pendants.
• Use rewards. This may also be a good time to look into the best rewards credit card for your situation. If your plan is to take mom out for a nice meal, paying with a card that gives cash back or points on dining can end up saving you money in the end. Some cards also give you the option to buy gifts with your points, so if you’re worried about not being able to afford something nice for the mother in your life, look into your points balance and what you can spend those on. You may even consider using points on things like travel or experiences for mom.
• Eat at home. We noted before that a large percentage of Americans take their moms out for a meal on Mother’s Day, but the holiday can be just as special (and a lot cheaper) if you eat at home. If cooking is not exactly your forte, ordering in and setting up a nice table for mom to enjoy her day can be just as meaningful an experience (without the chaos of a packed restaurant on the holiday).
• Rethink the flowers. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest days of the year for florists, so you’re not likely to score a deal walking into any flower shops anytime around the spring holiday — and those bouquets or prepared vases can get quite pricey. But if you’re thrifty, you probably can score a less expensive and perfectly beautiful bouquet by heading to the local grocery store. In some cities, even convenience stores sell small bouquets. If your mom has the space and enjoys planting, another way to save is by buying her seeds or small flowering plants that she can grow on her own.

Devoting a day to honoring mothers is actually a tradition that dates back thousands of years to fertility rituals and festivals dedicated to celebrating mother-like deities and Mother Nature. The U.S. version of the holiday has evolved from a ceremony honoring family matriarchs to a massive worldwide holiday. Even though it’s become commercialized, it’s still a great and meaningful way to honor the moms of the world and all that they do.

Source List:

1. National Retail Federation - Consumers to Spend Record $35.7 Billion for Mother’s Day

2. National Retail Federation - Mother’s Day Data Center

3. National Retail Federation - Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends

4. Society of American Florists - Mother’s Day Floral Statistics

5. ChartsBin - Mother’s Day Dates Around the World

6. Greeting Card Association - Greeting Card Info to Know

7. Sound Vision - Statistics About Mothers Around the World

8. United States Census Bureau - Mother’s Day: May 8, 2022

9. Motherly - Moms are Living in an Extraordinary Era of Burnout

10. TIME - Here’s How 9 Other Countries Celebrate Mother’s Day

11. Taste of Thailand - Mother’s Day in Thailand

12. Britannica - Mother’s Day

13. History.com - Mother’s Day 2023

14. Legacy Project - The History of Mother’s Day

15. Time - The Surprisingly Sad Origins of Mother’s Day

16. Arena Flowers - The History of Mother’s Day