Mother’s Day is May 14, and this year, consumer spending on mom’s special holiday is expected to hit record highs. The National Retail Federation reports 85 percent of consumers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day, spending an average of $186.39 each. Total spending is projected to hit $23.6 billion—the highest in the survey’s 14-year history.
Even better news for independent retailers: 55 percent of those surveyed say they plan to shop at a specialty store or small business. How can you ensure your store gets its share of Mother’s Day dollars? With the following Mother’s Day marketing tips for retailers.
Mother’s Day Marketing for Retailers
Know What’s Hot
Mother’s Day jewelry sales are expected to grow by 15 percent this year. Also hot: flowers, gift cards, clothing and consumer electronics. If you sell any of these items, promote them heavily.
Offer Convenience
The easier you can make the purchase (think one-stop shopping), the better. Display Mother’s Day cards, gift cards or even fresh flowers at checkout for grab-and-go convenience.
Piggyback Off Nearby Spas and Restaurants
Restaurant meals and spa days are hot Mother’s Day gift items. Partner with local spas and restaurants to cross-promote your business there. For example, you could offer shoppers a discount if they have a receipt from the restaurant next door, or have the spa give its patrons a coupon for your store when they arrive.
Target Multiple Kinds of Customers — and Multiple Gift Recipients
User-generated content platform Bazaarvoice, which helps retailers connect with customers, reports that last year, Mother’s Day online traffic peaked 25 percent higher than Valentine’s Day traffic. “Predominantly men buy jewelry and flowers for their significant others for Valentine’s Day, while both men and women buy gifts for their mothers in May,” says Bazaarvoice’s Alison Kwong. In addition, “Many shoppers buy gifts for multiple mothers in their lives — wife, mother, grandmother — and it’s also common for parents to buy Mother’s Day gifts on behalf of their young children.” With a larger, more diverse pool of customers shopping for Mother’s Day, your marketing needs to be customized for different target audiences. Kwong cautions against using a “one-size-fits-all” approach to Mother’s Day marketing or targeting only the same customers who shopped at your store for Valentine’s Day. “Understand the different audience segments shopping for [your] products and adjust marketing messaging, ad placements and promotional offers accordingly,” she advises.
Time It Right
Bazaarvoice’s data shows last-minute shoppers accounted for a Valentine’s Day traffic spike the week before February 14, and the same trend occurred the week before Mother’s Day—meaning you need to start your promotions immediately.
Keep Mother’s Day Momentum Going
If your store sells products that are popular for Mother’s Day, such as jewelry, Kwong suggests you think about creative new ways to capitalize on slower sales cycles throughout the year. “Being resourceful and original in your timing, promotions and messaging can give businesses a huge competitive advantage if they boost their marketing efforts during off-seasons when their competitors may not be paying as much attention,” she explains.
Listen to Your Customers
“Pay attention and respond to customer feedback, read ratings and reviews about your products, and monitor what consumers are saying and sharing on social media to glean insights about who’s buying your products and why they’re buying them,” says Kwong, noting that this can uncover new markets you may not have considered. “For instance, a [florist] may discover that parents often buy their children flowers for graduation or after dance and musical recitals. Incorporating real-life testimonials or visual content around these meaningful moments in your ads can be an effective way to [reach] audiences you might not have targeted before.”
Get Personal
“We’ve learned that 54 percent of consumers want more personalized shopping experiences based on their buying behavior, including savings and rewards based on past purchases,” Kwong says. “Targeting [previous] shoppers at the right time could turn a one-time shopper into a long-term customer.” For example, a jeweler or florist can collect customer data, then target husbands with relevant offers when their wives’ birthdays or their wedding anniversaries are coming up.
Flower Shop Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “7 Ways Retailers Can Capitalize on Mother’s Day” was first published on Small Business Trends