Mother’s Day Adds NFTs, Crypto to Gift Lineup

How much do you love your mom? Asked that question and most of us say something sentimental like “infinity,” but the National Retail Federation (NRF) is putting a number on it.

According to a press release regarding the NRF’s annual season trends report, consumers are expected to spend $245.76 on average for Mother’s Day 2022, about $25 more than last year. Is that extra $25 love or inflation? That’ll be a new record of $31.7 billion, smashing the record set in 2021 by a considerable $3.6 billion.

That’s a whole lot of motherly love being converted to commerce.

“Consumers are eager to find memorable ways to honor their mothers and other important women in their lives and are willing to spend a little extra on this sentimental holiday,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in the release.

We’ll chalk up the added $25 to love.

As to where folks are shopping, the NRF said 36% are planning to make their purchases online, with another 30% of consumers planning a department store visit, 27% favoring specialty stores, and 23% aiming to shop at local businesses.

According to the NRF outlook on gifts for moms on this special weekend when we remember all they’ve done — small favors like giving us life, for example — flowers are the top purchase.

Known as the third busiest day of the year for florists after Valentine’s Day and winter gifting holidays, Mother’s Day 2022 will be another banner year for floral arrangements, but all is not pansies and daffodils on that front.

In late April, the Society of American Florists (SAF) registered its displeasure with several Mother’s Day gifting campaigns attempting to supplant flowers with other items.

“As the voice of the floral industry, SAF contacts companies that disparage flowers or florists and asks them to reconsider their marketing approach — not only around Mother’s Day but also year-round,” the SAF said in blog post. “SAF suggests that the companies promote products based on their selling points rather than compare them to flowers.”

If we’re naming names, SAF said, “VistaPrint, a global company that produces marketing products, and the American Kennel Club were among the five companies recently contacted by the Society of American Florists about their advertisements bashing flowers.”

Check out that SAF blog for examples of “flower bashing,” or see this old Monty Python sketch.

Crypto and NFTs Say ‘I Love You’

This being the post-pandemic time period — fingers crossed — the old standbys like flowers and chocolates are great but fail to capture the digital shift in a Mother’s Day gift.

In that spirit, this might be just the time to introduce Mom to cryptocurrency. When Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live in May 2021, his mom appeared as well, saying at one point, “I’m looking forward to my Mother’s Day gift, and I hope it won’t be dogecoin.”

What did Twitter’s new owner reply? “Yes, it’s dogecoin.”

Crypto might or might not be the right gift for your mom, but non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are another story.

First things first, 1-800-Flowers has minted a line of Mother’s Day NFTs in two collections featuring illustrations by artists Devi Namira and Maaz Rahell, according to a press release.

“Developing these special Mother’s Day NFTs and introducing them to our customers in blockchain has been such an inspiring journey,” Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Abi Sachdeva said in the release. “We are at a very early stage in understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with these technologies and applications.”

Or Maybe Just Dinner … and a Billboard?

If a CTO feels that way, maybe NFTs are the wrong vibe for your mom. There’s always dinner.

With restrictions easing, reservation site OpenTable said in a press release that Mother’s Day reservations for 2022 are up 39% compared to 2019 and 13% compared to 2021.

OpenTable Chief Growth Officer Susan Lee said in the release, “48% of moms we surveyed shared that their ideal Mother’s Day involves dining out so if you haven’t made a reservation yet, now is the time. We expect this Mother’s Day to be bigger than ever and it may even surpass pre-pandemic levels.”

PYMNTS also found one Mother’s Day gift idea that says “I love you Mom” in a big way.

Advertising platform Shoutable announced in a Thursday (May 5) press release that it has teamed with social media influencers Charli and Dixie D’Amelio to put Mother’s Day messages on billboards and outdoor media easily and affordably, making a statement that even diamonds can’t match.

“Just in time for Mother’s Day, social media stars Dixie and Charli D’Amelio announce their partnership with Shoutable, a new and unique way of creating and sharing messages with friends, family and loved ones,” the release stated. “Using Shoutable’s new technology, anyone can create and post a message to be displayed on digital billboards across the country, with just a few clicks.”

Ten “Shouts” in a 10-minute period cost $40.

A portion of Shoutable’s revenue from the launch “will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for each @Shoutable mention or tag” across all its social media platforms.