Dive Brief:

• This year's Mother’s Day spending could reach $21.2 billion, a significant increase from a year ago and possibly the biggest ever — or at least since the National Retail Federation began measuring Mother’s Day spending. 

• An average $172.63 will be spent on mom this year, close to $10 more from $162.94 last year and the most in the history of the NRF’s 12-year-old Mother’s Day Spending Survey, conducted this year by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

• The spending pie for this holiday is eaten up mostly by florists and restaurants. Otherwise, eager-to-please (or guilty) offspring will head to department stores (33.4%), specialty stores (28.2%), discount stores (24.8%), or online retailers (25%). Fewer are shopping online this year, dropping from 29%.

Dive Insight:

Retailers are continuing their tradition of pinning their hopes of sales boosts on particular holidays. Mother’s Day is fraught with admiration, love, appreciation, and guilt — all good catalysts for spending, and more will be spent with the economy a bit healthier.

Still, (besides moms) flowers and food are the winners of this day.