TAMPA, Fla. — Families will go the extra mile to ensure that mom feels loved this Mother’s Day.
“I was planning on bringing her a coffee from Starbucks and taking her to her favorite restaurant,” said Erin Cagwin.
Watch report from reporter Mary O'Connell
“She lives on Cape Cod. I’m from Massachusetts, so I drove down. We spent the day together and did some yard work for her,” said Mike Callahan. “I gave her the hanging plant that she loves every year.”
The National Retail Federation expects Mother’s Day spending to reach more than $34 billion with the average per-person spending this year at about $260.
Some top gifts include cards, special outings, and flowers.
“Valentine’s and Mother’s Day are always gonna be, kind of like you said, the Super Bowls,” said Shelbie Martinez, the owner of Stunning Flowers by Shelbie in Tampa.
The flower shop staff is hard at work fulfilling orders. Martinez shared what their next few days will look like.
“This afternoon, I’ll start getting a lot of that afternoon walk-in after work. Tomorrow, a lot of walk-in, a lot of last-minute orders, everything from website, phone calls, my tablets, my Uber and DoorDash tablets will be going crazy, and then Sunday, speed it up times ten definitely,” said Martinez.
Of course, as you pay top dollar for mom, the economy and tariffs are at the top of mind.
“When we look at kind of the other consumables, kind of the other consumer goods that we tend to use, and a lot of those are going to fall into this category, things that we might buy for our mothers on Mother’s Day, be it flowers or chocolates, those prices are also, at least for now, kinda holding steady," said Michael Snipes.
ABC Action News caught up with Snipes, an Associate Professor of Instruction of Economics at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
“What we do have to worry about is kind of where a lot of these goods that we buy, where they come from because if we’re having to import them, then they’re going to be subject to tariffs,” said Snipes. “I think that the timing might be just right for Mother’s Day that it probably won’t be too terribly impacted by tariffs or by additional taxes, so I think that we’re going to be okay for Mother’s Day spending.”
But as families sum it up, it equates to something priceless.
“The amount of stuff that she’s done for me my entire life cannot be put into a number,” said Cagwin.
“You cannot put a price on spending for your mom,” said Callahan.
“It's a little nerve-wracking.”
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