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Popular Gifts: Besides the usual flowers and candy, some people choose practical items
Journal photo by David Rolfe
Balloons embellished with Mother’s Day sentiments are a colorful sight at George K. Walker Florist in Winston-Salem.
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Published: May 9, 2009
At George K. Walker Florist in Winston-Salem, customers are holding off longer this year than in 2008 to order for Mother's Day.
"This tells me that people are maybe waiting to get paid, to use their debit cards," said Joe Hinson, the president of George K. Walker Florist.
Shoppers don't have much time left to do something special for mom. Sunday is the big day.
Hinson said that his sales for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were down 6 percent from the same period last year, but he is encouraged by the fact that they were up 2 percent Thursday compared with the same day a year ago. And, he said, men typically wait until Friday and Saturday to shop for their moms or wives.
The trend that Hinson said he is seeing matches national research, which suggests that Americans plan to spend on average 10.6 percent less for Mother's Day this year than they did last year.
Average Mother's Day spending will be about $124 a person, compared with last year's $139, the National Retail Federation said. Overall, Mother's Day spending is expected to reach $14.1 billion.
Hinson said he has noticed a drop in Mother's Day spending the past two years. When people call with inquiries about Mother's Day gifts, they start out by asking about prices. A lot of callers mention that they have a mother and mother-in-law to buy for and need to watch their spending.
"Two years ago, they would call and say, ‘I want something really nice for my mother. What do you have?'" Hinson said. "You could get them to spend a little more money."
At local Wal-Mart stores, people are buying flowers, plants and Mother's Day cards.
Jeff Powell, a market manager for Wal-Mart stores, including four in Winston-Salem, said that activity has picked up in his jewelry departments but most people are buying small appliances such as mixers, blenders, vacuum cleaners and microwaves.
"The way our economy is, I think people are going to be leaning toward stuff like that a lot more, things that a mother can get use out of," Powell said.
He said he expects a lot of cut-flower and bakery sales over the weekend.
Hinson said that although a dozen roses is still a popular gift, more people want fresh-cut flowers in trendy containers, such as glass cubes, bowls and vases.
The retail federation said that flowers remain the most popular gift for Mother's Day, but Casanova's Coffees & Fudge in Lewisville, and Sweetie's at Reynolda Village in Winston-Salem, both reported strong sales.
Cindy Cenedella, the manager of Casanova's, said that besides candy, people are buying gourmet coffee beans, teapots and travel mugs.
Jackie Anderson, the owner of Sweetie's, said that most of her customers are buying boxed chocolates, with her average sales ticket $45 to $55.
"People just don't forget their mothers," she said.
The retail federation said that a lot of people will take their mothers out to eat for brunch or dinner, spending a total of $2.7 billion nationally, the highest spending total of gifts, compared with $1.9 billion for flowers, $2.3 billion for jewelry, $1.5 billion for gift cards, $1.2 billion for clothing or clothing accessories, and $1.1 million for personal services such as a day at the spa.
Britt Beemer, the chief executive of America's Research Group, based in Charleston, S.C., said that people will spend money for Mother's Day gifts but he expects them to buy lower-priced items.
Beemer said that many mothers want their children to make homemade cards and prefer that they don't spend money on Mother's Day gifts to avoid incurring more debt, so he believes that crafts stores will do well.
Beemer said that it's still too early to tell how jewelry stores will fare because they tend to sell some high-ticket items.
Rob Simon, the president of Windsor Jewelers, has noticed that new customers in his store are buying less-expensive items.
Overall, his sales have evened out between small and large purchases, he said. He recalled recent sales of a personalized diamond pendant for $800 and a pair of diamond stud earrings for about $2,400.
"We're still seeing some good sized purchases, but we're seeing more traffic for lesser expensive pieces and a little bit less traffic for the more expensive," he said. "You do the math. If you sell a couple of pieces less at the $5,000 range, you've got to sell a whole lot of pieces at the $100 range to make up for that."
■ Fran Daniel can be reached at 727-7366 or at fdaniel@wsjournal.com.
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