Fashion is key for Mother's Day gifts, search data shows

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 24, 2017

Fashion-linked brands were among the top five names searched for ahead of Mother’s Day (March 26) in the UK and handbags also figured highly, although chocolates still took the top spot.

New research from Captify of Friday showed that while upscale confectionery brand Hotel Chocolat was the most searched-for brand with 43% of searches, it was followed by Next on 20%, John lewis on 12%, Debenhams on 3% and Pandora on 1%.

The company, which analyses 30 billion online monthly searches, said that chocolate looks like the most popular gift with 20% of searches, while traditional choice flowers and less-traditional handbags accounted for 13% each.

Behind this trio at the top of the list were spa gifts and technology gadgets (9% each), personalised gifts and holiday or city breaks (8% each), afternoon tea (6%), dinner or a meal (4%) and wine (3%).

With spending on Mother’s Day heading toward £1bn, it was encouraging that fashion categories and brands figured so prominently on the list, especially after Valentine’s Day last month failed to lift spending by as much as had been hoped.

But retailers needed to hold their nerve on Friday, Saturday and even Sunday morning with Captify also saying many have left it until the last minute to buy a gift.

Of those delaying their gift purchases, 18-24-years-olds (at 24% of consumers) were the most likely to do so with 62% of late-gifters being men. And it looked like their mothers had a greater chance of getting a dud present from them as they were more likely to search online for general gift ideas rather than specific products.

Captify CEO Dom Joseph said: “Different celebrations throughout the year offer huge opportunities for brands to reach different and new audiences. For example, from our data, on Mother’s Day it is clear that some consumers can really struggle to shop for the other people in their lives, especially those shoppers aged from 18-24. These late-gifters really rely and trust online search to provide inspiration and advice on what best to buy for their loved ones at the last minute. Mother’s Day is a golden opportunity for brands to reach these consumers, who clearly intend to buy a present, even if it is left to the very last second.”