Gift facts
Mother's Day
Gift-Giving Statistics
Clear, citable 2026 U.S. figures on Mother's Day spending, gift choices, and what shoppers want a gift to mean.
The big picture
A major moment
for meaningful gifts.
Mother's Day brings together practical gifts, keepsakes, flowers, experiences, and time spent together. The figures below come from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics' annual U.S. consumer survey, released April 21, 2026.
Each stat keeps its own stable link and points back to the original release, so writers and planners can check the source before quoting it.
2026 U.S. survey findings
The numbers
at a glance.
$38 billion
Expected U.S. Mother's Day spending
The 2026 forecast for gifts and celebrations, ahead of 2025's $34.1 billion total.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗84%
Of U.S. adults expected to celebrate
Mother's Day remained a broadly observed gifting occasion in the 2026 survey.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗$284.25
Average planned spend among celebrants
The expected average budget covered Mother's Day gifts and celebrations.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗46%
Said a unique or different gift mattered most
Nearly half of respondents put a distinct gift ahead of other considerations.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗39%
Prioritized creating a special memory
A meaningful experience or moment was the next most important consideration.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗75%
Planned to give flowers
Flowers were the most popular reported gift category in the 2026 survey.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗74%
Planned to give greeting cards
Greeting cards were nearly as common a planned gift as flowers.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗63%
Planned a special outing
Dinner, brunch, and similar outings remained a common way to mark the occasion.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗55%
Planned to give gift cards
More than half of shoppers expected to include a gift card in their celebration.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗$7.5 billion
Expected spending on jewelry
Jewelry was the largest gift-category spend in the 2026 release.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗$6.4 billion
Expected spending on special outings
Special outings were the second-largest reported gift-category spend.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗One-third
Planned to give an experience
Experiences such as concerts or sporting events remained a record-level gift choice.
Source: NRF, April 21, 2026 ↗Method & source
Useful facts
need a trail.
This page reports figures as published in the National Retail Federation's April 21, 2026 release, based on its annual survey with Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey included 7,877 U.S. adults and was conducted April 1 through April 8, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
The source describes expected 2026 consumer spending and planned behavior, not final receipts. Figures should be quoted with that context and survey year.
Read the National Retail Federation release ↗Cite this page
LMR3 Creations. "Mother's Day Gift-Giving Statistics: 2026 U.S. Spending & Preferences." Updated September 24, 2026. https://lmr3creations.com/mothers-day-gift-giving-statistics
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