plan to spend $259.04 on Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations, about $5 more than they budgeted in 2024. As Katherine Cullen, NRF’s VP of industry and consumer insights, commented: “Mother’s Day is an important holiday for many consumers, only surpassed by the winter holidays in terms of average spending. “Even in the face of economic uncertainty,” Cullen noted, “consumers continue to celebrate the special women in their lives with gifts and outings”. The ‘special women’ in question has typically referred to matriarchal figures like a consumer’s biological mother or grandmother. However, over the past decade or so, the image of the typical mother’s day gift recipient has been blurred to include figures like stepmothers, aunts or other important motherly figures.  An updated way of thinking that brands like UrbanStems and Snif masterfully picked up on while brainstorming how to cater to their consumers searching for a gift for the special women in their lives.  How UrbanStems is catering to the modern ‘moms’ Last year, UrbanStems noticed an uptick in Mother’s Day sales, with customers placing an average of 1.4 orders per purchase, indicating that they were buying more than just one set of flowers for the holiday Taking this into consideration, UrbanStems CEO Meenakshi Lala explained that this year the brand took extra time to think about who their shoppers receive motherly energy from in their lives.  Lala said: “Our messaging is to talk about and honor every form of mother. It’s not just your biological mother, it can be your aunt or that emergency contact [your mother reaches out to]. “I’m a mom with a five-year-old. I have more than a few ladies on my phone who are my emergency contacts and are a motherly figure in my daughter’s life because they show up for her. For example, I can’t imagine my life without my nanny. She is an extension of me to my child.” In addition to the brand’s usual assortment of Mother’s Day bouquets, UrbanStems has several stock-keeping units dubbed ‘The Nurterer’, ‘The Bonus Mom’ and, most cleverly, ‘The Gigi’. As seen on the brand’s website, ‘The Gigi’ is “perfect for the Gigi in your life, whether she’s your grandmother, glam-mom, or just someone who makes everything feel a little more magical.” Leaning into custom experiences this Mother’s Day While NRF’s survey report confirmed that flowers remain one of the more popular gift categories, with total spending expected to reach $3.2 billion this year, more personalized or experiential gifting options, like brunch, are still highly appreciated.  Nearly half of consumers (48 per cent) surveyed say that finding a gift that’s unique or different is most important to them, followed by 42 per cent who say finding a gift that creates a special memory.  As Phil Rist, VP of strategy at Prosper Insights & Analytics, stated: “Alongside traditional gifts like flowers or a card, gifts of experience are a way to create a special memory with mom. Whether it’s tickets to a concert or movie, a wine tasting or simply a scenic hike and picnic, there are options to fit any budget.” Options that retailers need to increasingly prioritize to stand out in this ever-competitive holiday shopping segment.  Why taking an extra second for sensitivity matters  While brands like UrbanStems are taking the time to come up with products tailored for consumers’ other “mothers”, brands like fragrance company Snif are also thinking about those shoppers without a mother figure in their lives to shop for.  In an email sent in mid-April, Snif gently offered its subscribers a chance to opt out of potentially painful reminders about Mother’s Day. As the Snif team messaged their mailing list: “We know this can be a sensitive time of year, so we want to give our Snif fam the opportunity to opt out of messages related to Mother’s Day… Don’t worry, we’ll continue to keep you updated on everything else happening at Snif. We appreciate you!”In an era when shoppers are more aware than ever of corporate sensitivity, especially with growing consumer dissatisfaction about retail’s pullback on DEI initiatives, those brands that prioritize consideration of their customers’ feelings aren’t forgotten.