How Big Has Mother’s Day Really Become? A 12‑Year Look at a $34 Billion Holiday

Once centered on cards, flowers, and breakfast in bed, Mother’s Day has transformed into a $34‑billion‑a‑year event in the U.S. Over the past decade, the share of Americans who consistently celebrate hovers in the high‑70s to mid‑80s percent. A new report by Gourmet Gift Baskets looks at how search behavior, participation, and spending have changed over the past decade for Mother’s Day.

Key Takeaways

Across six years of U.S. Google search data, interest in “Mother’s Day” starts to climb in early March and then spikes up to 80–100 on Google’s index in the final three weeks before the holiday.
Americans were expected to spend about $34.1 billion on Mother’s Day in 2025, roughly 70% more than the $20 billion spent in 2013, with average budgets now above $250 per person.
Around 77–84% of adults celebrate Mother’s Day, with adults 35–44 and online shoppers driving some of the highest spending, making it one of the most widely observed and high‑spend holidays of the year.

The “Heartbeat” of Mother’s Day in Google Search

Before anyone shops, they search. Six years of weekly Google Trends data for “Mother’s Day” in the U.S. reveal an almost identical pattern each year. For most of the year, search interest around “Mother’s Day” sits at a baseline close to zero. Then, every spring, it spikes:

2021: peak around 94 in the week of Mother’s Day.
2022: peak 95 the week of Mother’s Day.
2023: a full 100 the week before Mother’s Day and 61 on the holiday week itself.
2024: 99 the week before Mother’s Day and 84 on the holiday week.
2025: 87 the week before Mother’s Day and 84 on the holiday week.

The 2023–2024 seasons show the strongest combined peaks and “shoulders,” while 2025 remains very high but slightly below that apex—evidence of a plateau at a high level, not a collapse in interest.

When people actually start searching

The same data shows when Americans begin thinking seriously about Mother’s Day.

Early March: first meaningful lift above baseline, as weekly values move from 1–2 to about 3–5. In 2024, for example, the index rises to 4 in early March; similar early‑March upticks appear in other years.
Late March to early April: a steady ramp into the 8–15 range as more people begin planning. In 2024, weekly interest hits 9 by late March and 13 in early April; in 2025 it reaches 11 by late March.
Final two weeks before Mother’s Day: a sharp climb.
Immediately after the holiday, interest collapses back to 2–3, then quickly returns to the baseline 1–2 until the next spring.

Across six years of U.S. Google search data, Mother’s Day interest starts to meaningfully rise in early March, grows gradually through late March, and then explodes in the final three weeks before the second Sunday in May, before crashing back to baseline within days of the holiday.

Mother’s Day Spending Has Grown Over 60% in 12 Years

Search interest is only part of the story. On the spending side, Mother’s Day has become dramatically bigger over the last decade.

Total U.S. spending over time

NRF and Statista data show how total planned U.S. Mother’s Day spending has climbed since 2013.

2013: $20.7 billion.
2018: about $23.1 billion.
2019: about $25.0 billion.
2020: about $26.7 billion.
2021: about $28.1 billion.
2022: about $31.7 billion.
2023: record $35.7 billion.
2024: about $33.5 billion, still near record levels.,/li>
2025: $34.1 billion expected.

Taken together, that is roughly a 65% increase in total Mother’s Day spending between 2013 and 2025 (about $20 billion to $34.1 billion). Similar to the search interest, the data shows a peak in 2023, and we haven’t reached that level again yet.

Who Celebrates—and Who Spends the Most

The average budget per person has also risen sharply.

2013: around $168 per celebrant.
2022: about $245.76.
2023: about $274.02, an all‑time high.
2024: about $254.04.
2025: about $259.04.

Average spend per person has climbed by roughly 50–60% over the past decade and has remained above $250 since 2023, even as consumers navigate inflation. Behind those big numbers are clear demographic and behavioral patterns.

Around 84% of adults plan to celebrate Mother’s Day in 2025, according to NRF; Numerator’s 2024 survey puts celebration intent at 78%.
People most commonly shop for a mother or stepmother (~57%), followed by a wife (~23%) and a daughter (~12%).
Adults ages 35–44 are consistently the highest‑spending group, with average budgets often in the $345–$380+ range as they buy for multiple important moms in their lives.
Men routinely outspend women, sometimes by $70–$80 per person; one 2019 wave showed men spending an average of $237 vs. $158 for women.
Gen Z and younger millennials are the most likely to say they will celebrate and to give gifts at all; Gen Z is about twice as likely as the general population to give a gift rather than just a call or message.
Around 36% of Mother’s Day shoppers say they will shop online, making it the single most common channel.
About 32% expect to shop at department stores, 29% at specialty stores, and 25% at local or small businesses.

Taken together, the search, spending, and participation data all point in the same direction: Mother’s Day has grown into a high‑intensity, high‑spend, nearly universal celebration whose center of gravity is shifting toward experiences and shared moments. For brands built around food, gatherings, and thoughtful presentation, it may be the single most important springtime holiday on the calendar.

Methodology

This analysis combines multiple data sources to build a picture of how big Mother’s Day has become.

Weekly Google Trends index for “Mother’s Day” (United States) from 2021–2026, using a 0–100 scale where 100 is the peak week in the period.
National Retail Federation (NRF) / Prosper Insights annual Mother’s Day surveys on participation, total spend, and average spend per person from 2013–2025.
Holiday‑level comparisons for participation and spending from broader holiday spending datasets, including Numerator and LendingTree.
Category‑level planned spend (flowers, cards, special outings, jewelry, gift cards) from NRF and Statista.

The core steps were:

Identify, for each year 2021–2025, the Google Trends peak week, peak index value, and ramp period where interest rises off its baseline and accelerates into the holiday.
Build a 2013–2025 time series of total U.S. Mother’s Day spending and average spend per celebrant, then calculate relative growth from 2013 to 2025.
Compare Mother’s Day to other major holidays on three dimensions: share of adults who celebrate, total spend, and average per‑person spend.
Profile key demographic segments (e.g., ages 35–44, Gen Z) and shopping channels.
Use search intensity and local business/event indices as proxies for geographic enthusiasm, noting that no public dataset reports state‑by‑state dollar spending.