Mother’s Day is one of the most lucrative shopping holidays for retailers, with over $23 billion in consumer spending last year. But what are consumers looking to purchase this Mother’s Day, and what drives them to make a purchasing decision?

To find out, we surveyed thousands of shoppers in the Bizrate Insights network and asked them about their shopping habits.

One surprising takeaway: only about 40% of respondents told us they were planning on buying a gift. Mother’s Day might be a big holiday for retail spending, but with less than half of Americans participating in it, there’s still plenty of room for growth.

How Much Are You Planning to Spend on a Mother’s Day Gift?

Most shoppers who did plan on buying a gift expected to spend less than $100, making the $50-$100 price range an important “sweet spot” for retailers to focus on when marketing Mother’s Day gifts. However, close to half of our male survey takers – 44% – expected to spend over $100, compared to just 28% of female respondents. Additionally, 13% of males said they would be spending over $200, while only 5% of females planned to spend that much.

Why the difference? It most likely boils down to what types of gifts they preferred to buy.

Which Item(s) Do You Plan on Purchasing?

Males were much more likely to buy high-priced electronics, like a tablet or laptop, as a gift. Female shoppers, on the other hand, preferred to purchase clothing or an experiential gift such as a concert or trip to a day spa.

Overall, the more traditional gifts are still the most popular, with flowers in the lead. In many cases, flowers were combined with another gift, like dining out, a gift card, or jewelry.

Where Do You Plan On Making Your Purchase?

The good news for brands is there’s still plenty of opportunity to attract customers to their store for Mother’s Day. 47% of our survey takers told us they weren’t sure where they were making their purchase yet, leaving just under half of the potential market up for grabs and a huge opportunity for brick-and-mortar stores to catch last-minute shoppers.

To take advantage of this, retailers should be aware of where their customers prefer to shop. In general, men prefer to do their gift shopping online, while women are more likely to visit a brick-and-mortar store.

To close out our survey, we wanted to find out what made shoppers decide to purchase.  We asked them what mattered most to them when they were searching for a gift:

What Is Most Important to You When Deciding on a Mother’s Day Gift?

Overwhelmingly, the most important factor in the purchase decision for shoppers is finding the perfect gift. While other factors drive decision making, Mother’s Day gifts carry a great deal of meaning, and people are willing to spend more and wait longer in order to get the perfect one.

Helping customers find the gift they had in mind means understanding what’s important to them and personalizing offers to meet their needs. That task requires a strong Voice of Customer program.

If you haven’t implemented a customer feedback program or aren’t sure you’re extracting the right insights from your current solution, speak to one of our customer experience specialists. Find out more with a free demo.