Catalina: Inflation hits Mother’s Day gift categories

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – With Mother’s Day ranking as the second most popular gift-giving holiday in the U.S, per the National Retail Federation, and with inflation still an ongoing concern, shoppers across the country are seeking the perfect present for the moms in their lives. Historically popular gift items that currently offer the most bang for the buck, per data insights culled from Catalina’s Shopper Intelligence Platform, include sparkling wine and scented candles, prices for which only increased 5% and 7% respectively during the first quarter of 2023 vs. the same period in 2022.

“Inflation isn’t impacting the major Mother’s Day gift categories equally,” said Sean Murphy, Catalina’s chief data and analytics officer. “For example, the cost of Premium Box Candy, Cut Flowers, and Fragrances are all trending higher than the Consumer Price Index’s 8% rate of inflation for grocery store purchases in March 2023.”

	% Change in Price	Average Net Price
Premium Box Candy	18%	$4.18
Fragrance	11%	$17.23
Cut Flowers	10%	$19.55
Scented Candles	7%	$7.50
Sparkling Wine	5%	$12.79

Source: Catalina Shopper Intelligence Platform, Q1 2023 vs. Q1 2022

Digging deeper, premium boxes of candy cost 18% more than they did for the same period in 2022, rising to an average price of $4.18. At $19.55, grocery bouquets of Cut Flowers are the most expensive option, up 10% over 2022. Prices of fragrances, which have increased 11%, have also risen higher than the inflation rate, costing on average $17.23.

That’s why, for value-conscious shoppers, a bottle of sparkling wine may be the best option. The average net price rose only 5% to $12.79 in Q1 2023. Scented candles are also a relatively economical choice in that their prices increased 7% to $7.50 for the same period.

These purchase data insights are based on a few of the over 1,700 syndicated and custom segments in Catalina’s extensive audience catalog, including Chocolate Candy Buyer, Greeting Cards Buyer, and Air Freshener & Scented Candles Buyer.

The NRF expects shoppers to spend $32 billion on Mother’s Day, the second most popular gift-giving holiday in the U.S. following Christmas, based on estimates that Americans spent an average of $152 on presents for their moms in 2022.