Inflation isn't impeding Mother's Day shopping, expert says
Total spending for Mother's Day is expected to notch $31.7B
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The nation's largest retail trade group, the National Retail Federation (NRF), projected that consumers will shell out a record amount for Mother's Day this year.
Katherine Cullen, NRF senior director of industry and consumer insights, told FOX Business that inflation, which is rising at its fastest rate in more than 40 years, isn't stopping consumers from spending on loved ones.
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Total spending is expected to reach $31.7 billion, up $3.6 billion from 2021, according to the NRF's annual consumer survey.
The average consumer is expected to spend a record $246 on Mother’s Day purchases, according to the data.
Mother and daughter on Mother's Day. (iStock / iStock)
This spending, Cullen said, is being driven by higher-ticket items such as jewelry and special outings.
For instance, total spending on jewelry alone is expected to hit $7 billion, according to the survey results. Meanwhile, over half of consumers are expected to spend an average of $41 on an outing, like dinner or brunch.
"Spending really does seem to be driven by more people purchasing certain types of gifts and really working to make Mother's Day special this year," Cullen said. "There are a lot of different ways inflation is impacting consumers, and we can't make the assumption that people are going to skimp on their moms because of inflation."
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Throughout the pandemic, "consumers, regardless of what was going on in the broader economy, or regardless of what was going on in the pandemic … were probably looking for opportunities to celebrate special occasions or to celebrate loved ones," Cullen added.
The drive to do so, "doesn't seem to have slowed down" either, she said.
Daughter surprising pregnant mother on Mother's Day. (iStock / iStock)
"Even if they may be budgeting differently in different aspects of their lives, when it comes to a holiday, they are trying to make that special," Cullen added.
She also noted that the pandemic, as challenging as times were, gave consumers the ability to "build up some of their savings, through a variety of avenues," whether it was cutting down on traveling and vacations or commuting costs for work.
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Between October and December 2021, consumers collectively had $4.2 trillion more in cash compared to the same period in 2019, according to Cullen.
"A lot of that money is still circulating. It is still in consumers' bank accounts," she said.
Although consumers are watching inflation, "they may not feel that they have to pull back in all aspects of their behavior," Cullen added.