Flower Power Holds Strong

The traditional gift of flowers remains a staple for this sentimental holiday. Leading up to Mother’s Day 2025, the floral aisle posted the biggest dollar momentum, delivering a $509 million week‑over‑week increase. Circana’s insights also confirm that the week of Mother’s Day is the floral department’s most important holiday. Both units and dollar sales grew last year, signaling a booming and blooming market.

Aromatics Ascend

Many moms and mother figures unwrap the gift of fragrance for this perennially popular observance. Prestige fragrance juices are right behind flowers as a top category for Mother’s Day; ahead of last year’s occasion, this category experienced a $98 million week-over-week dollar lift. Prestige fragrance gift sets and mass fragrances were also in the top 10 categories for the holiday.

Fast-Growing Segments

Some people are spending differently for Mother’s Day. That shift is evident in notable growth in categories like fitness trackers, which saw a 60% unit sales boost during the two-week run-up to Mother’s Day last year versus the previous year. Other emerging hotspots included smart displays (+71% in units); electric kettles (+76%), and digital picture frames (+42%). Meanwhile, although moms usually gift toys to children, they may be receiving some of their own for this holiday: Circana’s data shows that the LEGO brand’s Botanicals building sets posted a 16% dollar growth for the same pre-Mother’s Day time frame.

The Brunch Bunch

Mother’s Day brunch is another time-honored tradition that remains relevant to today’s families. Circana finds that Mother’s Day is among the busiest brunch days of the year in restaurants, and consumers are also serving up brunches at home. Several brunch-related food and beverage categories posted strong absolute dollar growth before Mother’s Day in 2025, including fresh eggs, berries, avocados, refrigerated breakfast meats, refrigerated fish/herring/seafood, and refrigerated fruit drinks.

With just two weeks between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekend, brands and retailers are simultaneously gearing up for the official start of summer. Like Mother’s Day, food and beverage are a big part of that mini holiday: In a 2025 Circana survey, more than half of consumers (57%) reported that they planned to celebrate Memorial Day by getting together with a few close friends or extended family members, and 56% said that they intended to barbecue or cook on an outdoor grill.