Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and for hotels, it remains one of the most commercially significant moments in the calendar.
But what makes Mother’s Day so powerful isn’t just the volume of demand. It’s the way customer behaviour shifts, and how dramatically that shift impacts revenue.
In 2025, Mother’s Day stood out as one of the most distinct trading moments of the entire year on Gifted. Not just because performance was strong, but because the audience and purchasing patterns looked fundamentally different from any other period.
And those signals are too important to ignore in 2026.
A rare shift in audience behaviour
Across 2025 as a whole, Gifted followed a familiar pattern: the audience skewed female, with women accounting for 61.7% of transactions year to date, and male customers representing an average of 38.3%.
In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, that pattern flipped entirely.
52.2% of all transactions were made by male customers - making it the only week in 2025 where men formed the majority audience, and the highest male share recorded in any single period across the year.
Mother’s Day is therefore not just another seasonal spike. It is the most male-skewed trading moment of the year.
It draws in customers who may be less active at other times, particularly male gifters, but who arrive with a clear purpose and an even clearer deadline.
Higher intent. Larger baskets.
That shift in audience was matched by a shift in purchasing behaviour.
During the Mother’s Day period, orders contained on average twice as many vouchers as other peak trading moments in 2025.
Rather than browsing or spreading purchases across multiple visits, customers were decisive. They completed the task in one go. They purchased with certainty. And they placed higher-value, multi-voucher orders as a result.
This is what makes Mother’s Day commercially distinct. It’s not simply about increased traffic - it’s about outsized value per transaction.
Why experiences continue to lead
Mother’s Day remains one of the strongest gifting occasions in the UK. While flowers still lead overall, experience gifting consistently ranks immediately behind - particularly afternoon tea, spa and wellness, dining experiences and short breaks.
Typical price points reflect strong revenue potential:
Afternoon tea: £40–£80
Spa experiences: £80–£200+
Weekend getaways: £200+
For 4 and 5 star hotels, this is a significant opportunity. Customers are prioritising memories over material items, and experience vouchers offer the perfect balance of thoughtfulness and flexibility.
