2026
9
UK Mother’s Day Market Report 2026
2026-05-21T10:01:55+00:00
REP7BBD9CC6_B054_4C5B_BD9C_C6B0544C5B84
2195
193526
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Report
en_GB
Mother's Day gifting in 2026 proved resilient, with 60% of consumers purchasing a gift. However, Mother's Day is increasingly under pressure to evolve, as the role of gifting is shifting.
UK
Retail
simple

UK Mother’s Day Market Report 2026

"Wider wellness trends are influencing Mother's Day gifting, creating opportunities for retailers and brands to redefine self-care."

Emily Viberg, Retail Analyst

Emily Viberg, Retail Analyst

UK Mother’s Day Retail Trends

  • Mother’s Day gifting in 2026 proved resilient, with 60% of consumers purchasing a gift. However, Mother’s Day is increasingly under pressure to evolve, as the role of gifting is shifting.
  • Consumers are placing greater emphasis on long-term wellbeing and practical value, redefining what constitutes a ‘meaningful’ gift. As a result, Mother’s Day is moving beyond a single moment of celebration, becoming a platform through which ongoing care is expressed – raising expectations for gifts to deliver relevance and impact beyond the day itself.
  • Wellness has emerged as a central driver of this shift, influencing both gifting choices and in-home celebrations. With over half of consumers avoiding unhealthy food and drink gifts, there is a clear move away from short-term indulgence towards sustained wellbeing.
  • At the same time, the demand for experience-based gifts is growing, meaning traditional gifting models no longer meet expectations. This puts pressure on brands and retailers to offer more than just standalone products. The new approach requires viewing Mother’s Day not as a one-off event, but as an opportunity to position gifts as the start of long-term routines, experiences and support systems that extend well beyond the celebration itself.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • How wider wellness trends are impacting gifting priorities for Mother’s Day
  • Why retailers need to take a long-term approach to self-care gifting
  • How retailers can engage higher earning gift buyers with premium gifting experiences
  • The top factors that make purchasing Mother’s Day gifts difficult, and how retailers can address them
  • How emerging AI technology will promise a truly seamless gift buying experience
  • Notable campaigns and activations from retailers and brands at Mother’s Day
Collapse All
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for Mother’s Day 2027
    • Opportunities
    • Move self-care gifting from quick fixes to long-term health
    • Make dedicated gift areas feel curated , not self-serve
    • Let AI do the heavy lifting and boring gifting admin
  2. THE MARKET

    • Market size
    • Chocolate and jewellery prices remain high
    • Graph 1: consumer prices for key Mother’s Day gifting categories, January 2025-March 2026
    • Greetings card specialists struggle
    • Graph 2: number of transactions, January 2025-March 2026
    • Florists see number of transactions and customers peak in March
    • Graph 3: number of customers, Jan 2025-March 2026
    • Graph 4: number of transactions for florists, Jan 2025-March 2026
    • Market size breakdown
    • Users of weight loss medication are reshaping mealtime choices
    • Graph 5: changes in eating out or takeaway behaviour after starting prescription weight-loss medication, 2025
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Evolving attitudes towards wellness will reshape self-care in gifting
    • Food and drink most popular Mother’s Day gift
    • Graph 6: products purchased as gifts for Mother’s Day, 2026
    • Wellness drives healthier Mother’s Day gifting habits
    • Parents of younger children avoid unhealthy food/drink gifts
    • Graph 7: “I avoided giving unhealthy food and drink gifts for Mother’s Day this year, by age of children, 2026
    • Dedicated functional gifting areas in store
    • Functional nutrition as the new gifting hero
    • Elevate wellness gifting with experiences
    • Younger gift buyers want to support their mothers’ long-term health
    • One-stop gifting services need to feel premium
    • Mother’s Day gift buying is convenience-led
    • Higher income households lead gift spending
    • Graph 8: average spending on Mother’s Day gifts, by household income, 2025-26
    • High income gift buyers want one-stop gifting spaces
    • Graph 9: Mother’s Day shopping behaviours, by household income, 2026
    • Sustainable packaging can elevate premium feel
    • Packaging with purpose and style
    • Create immersive Mother’s Day gifting areas in store
    • AI technology to turbocharge frictionless gifting
    • Tackle Mother’s Day friction points
    • Having to go to multiple areas in store is a costly barrier for shoppers
    • Smarter gifting tools needed
    • Younger gift buyers hold off until the last minute
    • Young males interested in optimising the gift buying experience
    • Graph 10: technology and Mother’s Day shopping behaviours, by gender and age, 2026
    • Help share the cognitive load of buying Mother’s Day gifts
  4. RETAILER ACTIVITY

    • John Lewis launches beauty box on TikTok Shop
    • Daisy May reveals what mums ‘really want’ in John Lewis campaign
    • Stacey Solomon launches ‘mini-me’ collection with Primark
    • Mother’s Day messaging needs to be sensitive
    • Retailer collaborations
    • Tesco launches Mother’s Day campaign at King’s Cross
    • Retail gifting guides spotlight BPC products for menopause
    • Waitrose caters to meal time missions
  5. APPENDIX

    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Other data source methodologies
    • Mintel Spark
    • Snoop SpendMapper methodology
    • Abbreviations

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