Mothers Day 2011

This Sunday (May 8, 2011), the second Sunday in May, is Mother’s Day in the United States.

In addition to honoring their mothers on this Mother’s Day with a at least a visit or phone call, most of us will also be spending some money on them with a card and gifts. Popular Mothers Day gifts include flowers, candy, taking them out to dinner, etc.  


In fact, according to Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation, as quoted on the Voice of America News website, the average person is expected to spend about $140 on Mothers Day presents this year.  


This translates to some $16 Billion dollars in total retail sales for Mother’s Day 2011.  


While candy, especially chocolate candy, is a popular gift for Mother’s Day it is not the most popular gift.  Things like cards, flowers, being taken to a restaurant, etc. all seem to overshadow candy sales.


According to industry statistics, the big holidays for candy, especially chocolate candy, sales are Halloween, followed by Easter, Christmas and Valentine’s Day in that order although Easter sales are just slightly  less than those of Halloween.  


Mother’s Day is good for sales of chocolate but the boost in sales of this product is not enough to put sales of chocolate candy in league with the other holidays.  However, sales of chocolate candy are a part of the $16 Billion sales figure retailers are expecting to reap this Mother’s Day.


So, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the Mothers, Step-Mothers, Grandmothers, wives, grown daughters, aunts and others who will be honored with gifts this Sunday.

Links for Further Reading:


For a History of Mothers Day in the U.S. see this article about Anna Marie Jarvis the Woman Behind Mothers Day

For more data on holiday sales of chocolate see this article on Origins of Chocolate Easter Eggs

Voice of America News article on 2011 Mothers Day sales expectations 

Nielson article on holiday chocolate sales data