Small business owners are anticipating strong Mother's Day sales. A new survey from Constant Contact, an e-mail marketing service for small businesses, found that 66% of small business owners are optimistic about this year's sales.
Because Mother's Day sales are important to their yearly earnings, 75% of respondants said they are planning special promotions for the holiday.
In addition, since 78% of the small business owners who responded expect more online shopping by their customers this year, the majority of them are turning to online marketing to drive sales.
According to the survey, online marketing — including e-mail — has become more popular with small businesses than more traditional marketing. When asked what specific marketing tactics they intend to employ to promote Mother's Day this year, e-mail marketing topped the list at 81%, followed by online marketing at 42%. Traditional marketing methods — flyers, direct mail and print/TV/radio advertising — all scored in the 21% to 25% range.
Broken down by industry, Hospitality (restaurant, travel, and lodging) expected the biggest boost, followed by Consumer Services (ie jewelers, spas, beauty salons, fitness and photography) and Retail (such as specialty shops, clothing stores and florists).
The majority of small business owners (54%) estimate that customers will spend $25 - $75 on Mother's Day gifts, and 30% are even more bullish, guessing that the average consumer spend will be over $75.
As far as exactly who in the family will be doing the gift buying, husbands are expected to account for 37% of the purchases, daughters 35%, mothers themselves 20% and, in last place, sons 8%
And what will they be buying? Flowers mostly, followed by spa or salon treatments, jewelry and clothes.
For more on smart Internet marketing, read the recent eMarketer report Online Ad Targeting: Engaging the Audience.