No mother lode of gifts this holiday

Sorry, Mom: The estimated 83 million mothers in the U.S. will be getting smaller and cheaper gifts on Sunday.

Americans are expected to spend an average of $123.89 a person on Mother’s Day, down from $138.63 last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey. And that’s down from $139.14 in 2007, according to the survey, conducted by market researcher BIGresearch.

Still, for FedEx Corp., Mother’s Day continues to rank with the December holiday season and Valentine’s Day as one of the year’s busiest delivery times. Express deliveries boom about 10% between April 27 and May 9, the Memphis, Tenn., company said.

More than 80% of Americans celebrate Mother’s Day, and most will buy presents for their mothers, stepmothers or wives despite the recession, the retail group’s survey found. They’ll try to save money by cutting out goodies for their daughters, friends and godmothers. And 30% of shoppers plan to visit discount stores.

But total spending for the holiday, estimated at $14.10 billion, should exceed the money dropped on Easter.

Flowers will dominate the purchases, with nearly 67% of consumers putting down $1.9 billion on the blooms. Another $2.7 billion will go toward dinners or brunches, an option for nearly 55% of Mother’s Day celebrants.

Retailers also can expect $2.3 billion to be spent on jewelry, $1.5 billion on gift cards, $1.2 billion for clothing and accessories and $1.1 billion on personal services such as spa treatments. Consumers also will focus hundreds of millions of dollars on electronics, housewares and books.

--

tiffany.hsu@latimes.com