A bespoke card is created every second during the two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, according to data from the UK’s largest online card retailer, Moonpig.
The company revealed that 85% more cards are sent for Mother’s Day than for Valentine’s Day, while flower deliveries for mums are two-and-a-half times higher than those for partners.
Mothers remain the most celebrated recipients throughout the year, with one in four cards sent through the retailer delivered to mums, twice as many as those sent to dads. Separate research of 2,000 adults commissioned by Moonpig also found that mothers play a major role in buying cards and gifts for others. On average, mums send 13 cards and 15 gifts annually, contributing to around 346 million cards and 395 million gifts across the UK.
More than a quarter of cards and gifts are purchased by mums on behalf of others, highlighting their important role in keeping families and friends connected. Rachael Halliday, spokesperson for Moonpig, said mothers are “the biggest drivers of the UK’s gift economy,” ensuring occasions from birthdays to anniversaries are remembered, and noted that people are often “more inclined to show appreciation to mums than anyone else.”
Moonpig’s data also shows that chocolate is the most popular gift, with around 41 tonnes sent each year, half of it for Mother’s Day. Cards are also increasingly being sent to a wider group of maternal figures, including stepmums, godmothers and even “pet mums”.
Research by OnePoll suggests motherhood today extends beyond biology, with 22% of people relying on other maternal figures such as mothers-in-law, grandmothers, mentors and close family friends. However, despite this appreciation, many shoppers leave it late, with a quarter buying Mother’s Day cards in the final 48 hours. In fact, March sees 11 times more “sorry” cards sent to mums than any other month. Halliday added that personalised cards and thoughtful gifts help “keep love and connections alive, even when we can’t be there in person.”
