With Mother’s Day the biggest gift giving occasion after Christmas, gift shops reported that their tills were busy ringing up sales both in the run up, and on the big weekend itself.
“Last week saw stronger lifts than expected with our customers shopping across the range,” Samantha Williams, Oliver Bonas’ head of buying for Home & Gift, told GiftsandHome.net. “As usual, categories like hair bands, scarves, candles and bath and body ranges were incredibly popular. This year, we are also saw a strong reaction to our joyful, optimistic faux plants and plant pot ranges which we’ve been featuring in our windows.”
According to Romy Abraham, owner of Loft & Spires in Bury St Edmunds, it was obvious that a card, a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates were not going to be enough this year. “Many of our customers came in to buy items which their mothers had either put aside for them to buy, or to choose from a list that their mothers had made,” she explained.
As usual, fragrance items such as candles, room diffusers and body and bath products continued to be the fast sellers, “but this year there seemed to be a movement towards purchasing gifts for mums which would last, rather than fresh flowers and chocolates. Even our sales on artificial flowers significantly increased in the run up, with customers asking for everlasting bouquets for them to gift.In terms of homewares, the more artistic and decorative items were the best sellers. Customers were really searching for the more unusual gifts/keepsakes.”
Added Romy: “Products we sell which support charities were also a favourite for Mother’s Day, along with diverse variety of jewellery, handbags and casual ladies clothing, such as wraps, kimonos, socks and scarves. However, what was the pure volume of purchases made by ladies for their own use? Mums treating themselves!”
At Williams of Audlem in Cheshire, director Judy Evans explained: “as soon as Valentine’s Day finished, we put in a fresh window display for Mother’s Day, with a strong emphasis on female gifts for all age ranges. In store, we also constructed a special Mother’s Day gift section, right by our main service counter, to catch the eye. Two weeks ago, we also brought in some heavily female orientated products, from one of our new suppliers, Half Moon Bay/Shruti which we used to revamp our Mother’s Day display, and give it a fresh, vibrant look. In the run-up to Mother’s Day itself, we posted our store’s top suggestions for Mother’s Day gifts on social media, and also used our local community website to promote our Mother’s Day offering in store. The products sold extremely well, and helped to create a wider interest in our store, and our other gift ranges in general.”
For The Present in Barnet, owner Louise Rolfe confirmed that Mother’s Day built up and really kicked off on Monday March 25th, with increased takings. “We had our Mother’s Day display up since the day after Valentine’s for customers to browse and get ideas, and they returned to actually purchase,” she stated. “Sales gradually rose throughout the last week, with Friday and Saturday extremely busy requiring extra staff. We are also open on Sundays, with lots of ‘last minuters’ popping in. Therefore we increased sales on the actual day too. As usual, scarves, jewellery, toiletries and candles were the ‘go to’ gifts.”
Top: Loft & Spires’ eye-catching Mother’s Day window display.
