Mother’s Day gifts cost more in 2026 as spending hits record

The splurge did not disappear from Mother’s Day. It just moved higher up the basket, where jewelry and special outings kept pulling the biggest dollars while flowers, chocolate and delivery fees quietly pushed the bill higher.

Mother’s Day spending was set to reach a record $38 billion in 2026, with average planned spending at $284.25 per person, up from $259.04 a year earlier and above the prior high of $274.02 in 2023. The National Retail Federation said 84% of U.S. adults planned to celebrate, a sign that this remains one of the most widely observed shopping moments on the calendar. The survey has been conducted since 2003, and this year’s numbers showed a familiar pattern with a more expensive edge.

Flowers stayed the default, with 75% of shoppers planning to buy them, followed closely by greeting cards at 74%. But the biggest dollars landed elsewhere: jewelry was projected to be the top gift category at $7.5 billion, and special outings such as dinner or brunch were expected to reach $6.4 billion. That is the clearest read on how people were spending in 2026: when they did pay up, they wanted something that felt personal, wearable or memorable, not just another box on the counter.

The price pressure showed up in the everyday gifts, too. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said overall consumer prices were up 3.8% over the prior 12 months in April, and a related measure showed indoor plant and flower prices rising 7.5% in March. In Savannah, local reporting said total Mother’s Day spending was up 10.8% year over year, with flowers up 7.5% and experiences up 3.8%. Last-minute shoppers had the worst of it, with rush-shipping and same-day delivery fees adding about $5 to $20 per gift.

That helped explain the split in where people shopped. Online and department stores were tied as the leading destinations at 33% each, followed by specialty stores at 29% and discount stores at 26%. Gift cards, clothing and lower-cost swaps stayed in the mix, but the 2026 message was clear: households were still buying generously for moms, just with sharper attention to what felt worth the extra money.