How much are we spending on Mother’s Day gifts in 2023?

A lot more than we're spending on dad!

Updated

May 2, 2023

Fact checked

May is upon us, which for many of us means looking for gifts for mom. In fact, over half of all adults in the US (55%) plan to buy something for mom for Mother’s Day in 2023, according to the latest research from Finder.

With some 144 million planning to spend a median of $75 on their mom in 2023, retailers are on track to rake in roughly $11B from Mother’s Day shoppers.

In comparison, just 42% say they will buy a Father’s Day gift in 2023. And with an average spend of $60, US shoppers will spend roughly $7 billion on gifts for dad — about $4 billion less than will be spent on mom.

Mama’s boy vs. daddy’s girl

Parents, if you want gifts: have boys. Almost three-quarters of men (73%) say they will buy at least one of their parents a gift for either Mother’s or Father’s Day in 2023, compared to a little over half of women (56%).

Over two-fifths of women (44%) say they won’t buy a Mother’s or Father’s Day gift in 2023, compared to a little over a quarter (27%) of men.

Just shy of a third of women (30%) say they will buy gifts for both mom and day, whereas a little under two-fifths of men (37%) said the same.

Daddy’s girl seems to be at least partially true, with women (10%) a little more likely than men (8%) to buy gifts for just their dad.

However, mama’s boy is definitely a real thing, with men (29%) far more likely than women (17%) to shop for just mom.

Interestingly, while there is some variation in the number of men and women shopping for mom and dad, how much they plan to spend on each parent is consistent. Men plan to spend a median of $100 on gifts for either Mother’s or Father’s Day, double the projected Mother’s and Father’s Day spend for women ($50).

Millennials and Gen Z giving gifts this year

Good news for parents with Millennials and Gen Z children as 84% of both generations say they will buy either their mom or dad gifts in 2023. (To be fair, the sad reality is that many of those in older generations will no longer have a parent to shop for.)

Gen Y will be spending the most, dropping the most on mom, with a median gift budget of $100. Millennials also plan to spend $100 on dad.

Gen Z is the most likely to shop for both parents (54%).

Millennials (29%) are most likely to shop for just mom.

10% of both Gen Z and Millennials will shop for just Dad.

The West is home to the most Mother’s Day shoppers

Almost three-quarters (70%) of those in the West will buy gifts for parents, with 59% buying a gift for mom.

The West is also home to both the highest percentage of people shopping for either just mom (25%) or just dad (10%).

Those in the Northeast (58%) are least likely to give their parents gifts.

Those in the South (35%) are most likely to be getting gifts for both mom and dad and also the most likely to be shopping for dad (45%).

When is Mother’s Day?

If you’re wondering when is Mother’s Day this year, it’s pretty easy to remember, as Mother’s Day always falls on the second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day 2023 will be on Sunday, May 14, 2023.

Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index is a nationally representative survey polling more than 6,000 Americans about household finances since October 2022.
Our Mother’s Day Shopping data is based on an online survey of 2,113 US adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics/SAP between April 11-20, 2023, with representative quotas for sex and age.
We assume the 2,113 participants in our survey represent the US population of 259.2 million Americans who are at least 18 years old, according to the July 2022 US Census Bureau population estimate. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.
Our survey asked people whether they plan to buy either their mom or dad a gift for either Mother’s or Father’s Day and, if so, how much they plan to spend on that parent.
We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines, though we’ve combined baby boomers and the Silent Generation into a single group for sampling ease:
- Gen Z — any adults born post-1997
- Millennials — 1981–1996
- Gen X — 1965–1980
- Baby boomers — anyone born pre-1964
We define geographical regions as defined by the US Census Bureau.

For all media inquiries, please contact:

Chelsea Wells-Barrett, PR, Media Relations and Communications

E: uspr@finder.com

Richard Laycock is Finder’s insights editor after spending the last five years writing and editing articles about insurance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University and The Missouri School of Journalism and has a Tier 1 Certification in General Advice for Life Insurance.

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How much are we spending on Mother’s Day gifts in 2023?