Now A $20 billion holiday in the U.S., Mother’s Day-related searches start rising roughly a month in advance, though search habits vary by gift category.
Did you know that Mother’s Day ranks third in consumer spending after Christmas and Back-to-School among retail holidays in the U.S.? Last year, it edged out Valentine’s Day as consumers spent $20 billion on moms, daughters and other women in their lives, according to the National Retail Federation.
In a new blog post, Brittney Thomas, vertical manager at Bing Ads, offers insights for search marketers prepping their Mother’s Day campaigns. One thing that’s clear is that all gift categories don’t act alike. Looking at Mother’s Day related search data across the Yahoo Bing Network, Bing Ads found searches for technology peak nearly a month ahead of the holiday, while gifts and flowers searches reach their highest levels the week before Mother’s Day.
Mobile Searches Surpass Desktop In Key Categories
On mobile, searches rose in the week of Mother’s Day as consumers look for last-minute, local options, while PC and desktop searches taper off.
While the mobile surge in the final week may not be surprising, it’s striking how much mobile was a factor last year. Of the top three gift searches — jewelry, cards and gifts, and flowers — only flowers had higher search traffic on PC/tablets than mobile on the Yahoo Bing Network.
Source: Bing Ads
While you might think last-minute flower purchases would be highly mobile-driven, last year flower searches were much more prevalent on PC/tablets, perhaps because the bouquets options are easier to see and order on a bigger screen. However, with bigger phones out this year, we may see changes here, too.
Bing Ads suggests having your Mother’s Day ads live at least two weeks before the holiday. Last year, search volume peaked in the middle of April, while click-through rates hit their highest levels two weeks before Mother’s Day.
Thomas also notes that, according to Marin Software, search spend was 110 percent higher for Mother’s Day than it was for Father’s Day in 2014. Consider this when allocating budgets — an even split between the two might not give you enough running room for Mother’s Day.
