Inflation Hits 2023 Mother’s Day Gift Categories Unevenly, per Catalina

With Mother’s Day ranking as the second most popular gift-giving holiday in the US, per the National Retail Federation and with inflation still an ongoing concern, shoppers may find inflation is impacting standard Mother’s Day gifts unevenly.

According to data insights culled from Catalina’s Shopper Intelligence Platform, prices of gifts like sparkling wine and scented candles only increased 5 percent and 7 percent respectively during the first quarter of 2023 vs. the same period in 2022.

“Inflation isn’t impacting the major Mother’s Day gift categories equally,” said Sean Murphy, Catalina’s Chief Data and Analytics Officer. “For example, the cost of Premium Box Candy, Cut Flowers and Fragrances are all trending higher than the Consumer Price Index’s 8 percent rate of inflation for grocery store purchases in March 2023.”

Digging deeper, premium boxes of candy cost 18 percent more than they did for the same period in 2022, rising to an average price of $4.18.

At $19.55, grocery bouquets of cut flowers are the most expensive option, up 10 percent over 2022. Prices of fragrances, which have increased 11 percent, have also risen higher than the inflation rate, costing on average $17.23.

That’s why, for value-conscious shoppers, a bottle of sparkling wine may be the best option. The average net price rose only 5 percent to $12.79 in Q1 2023. Scented candles are also a relatively economical choice in that their prices increased 7 percent to $7.50 for the same period.

These purchase data insights are based on a few of the 1,700+ syndicated and custom segments in Catalina’s extensive audience catalog, including Chocolate Candy Buyer, Greeting Cards Buyer and Air Freshener & Scented Candles Buyer.

The NRF expects shoppers to spend $32 billion on Mother’s Day, the second most popular gift-giving holiday in the US following Christmas, based on estimates that Americans spent an average of $152 on presents for their moms in 2022.