A gift for businesses
Looming Mother’s Day spending spree brings relief as owners cater to pent-up demand
Normally one of the most profitable events of the year for restaurants and retailers, Mother’s Day last year instead marked the first big economic blow of the pandemic and signaled the start of the rockiest year on record for business owners.
Now, business is on the upswing for those that survived as they cater to pent-up demand and look forward to sales that exceed even pre-pandemic volumes.
Mother’s Day spending is expected to reach $28.1 billion this year, up $1.4 billion from last year and $3.1 billion more than in 2019, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. Consumers plan to spend $220.48 on average on Mother’s Day items, a jump from last year’s average of $204.74 and from 2019, when the average was $196.47, the survey found.
Gains are expected across the gamut — from gifts to meals out.
Addie Teague’s Relish Res
taurant & Bar saw its Mother’s Day revenue fall last year by 70 percent from its 2019 sales. The River Oaks eatery reinstated its brunch offering last month, and Teague said it’s booked solid for Mother’s Day.
“The fact that we’re already back up to those numbers is incredible,” she said, noting she expects this weekend’s sales to exceed 2019 numbers by as much as 20 percent.
Because vaccines weren’t available during the year-end holiday season and the February freeze interrupted Valentine’s Day sales for many businesses, Mother’s Day will be the first big test of how much holiday-driven consumer traffic is bouncing back.
Sales in categories such as jewelry and electronics are soaring this year, according to the retail federation.
That jibes with what Zadok Jewelers is seeing at its newly developed store on Post Oak. Mother’s Day is normally a standout holiday for the family-owned retailer, but not quite like this.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this (much) traffic for Mother’s Day,” said owner Jonathan Zadok. “I think it’s going to far exceed not just last year, which isn’t hard to do, but also previous years.”
For Zadok, Mother’s Day sales last year fell around 60 percent from the previous year. Jewelry was a segment of retail hit hard early in the pandemic, as people stayed home and spending on luxury goods slowed. But Zadok said it’s bouncing back with a vengeance, with even the average spending increasing over pre-pandemic sales as people aren’t traveling as much and may have more to spend on gifts.
Jewelers might also be seeing some guilt spending. Zadok said those shopping for moms might be willing to splurge a bit more this year because it’s been a particularly tough year for them.
“It’s definitely been very tough on parents in general,” he said. “I think that mothers have sort of gotten the brunt of it.”
Annie Rupani-Farino, owner of the Uptown chocolate company Cacao & Cardamom, said last year’s sales were off by around 50 percent. Heading into the weekend, she said she expected sales to beat last year’s level but that it was too soon to tell if sales this year would exceed her prepandemic volumes. “People are much more late in getting gifts for Mom, especially when it’s something perishable.”
A big factor this year is how successful the shipping side of her retail operation turns out to be. Before the pandemic, online sales accounted for only around 10 percent of her revenues.
Now, she does the bulk of her business, 70 percent, online. A full-scale pivot remains underway as half of the retail floor space at her Westheimer store is dedicated instead to preparing shipments, a complicated process for delicate chocolate creations.
“We didn’t really have a choice,” she said. “We had to shift our business or not have a business anymore.”
It’s been a traumatizing year for business owners. Relish’s Teague said she’s still nervous something new will come around the corner and knock her business out of commission again.
“I feel like we’re all almost waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under us again,” she said “Because last year it was just one thing after the next.”
For her, the new challenge is staffing. Finding and training staff quickly enough to meet surging demand has been a struggle for Relish and other restaurants. Teague said the restaurant is making an unusual decision to offer a prix fixe menu this year to make it easier to tackle crowds with a short staff.
As the recovery commences, Teague said alcohol sales have increased over 2019 levels, helping drive up revenue.
“I think people are just ready for that ‘Great Gatsby’-esque Roaring ’20s comeback,” she said. “That, we look forward to.” amanda.drane@chron.com twitter.com/amandadrane