It's gifting time: Mother's Day and Father's Day

With May rapidly approaching, it’s time to start thinking of two big holidays this spring. Mother’s Day (May 14) and Father’s Day (June 18) are only about one month apart, and consumers are actively searching for the best gifts for their loved ones. Luckily, we have the top targeting and timing recommendations to help you maximize your reach and performance.

Read about our findings and make sure your campaigns are set up to target consumers shopping for gifts this Mother’s Day & Father’s Day.

Mother’s Day

Searches for Mother’s Day have followed similar trends over the last three years, ramping at the beginning of April and hitting their peak one to two weeks prior to the holiday. We looked at year-over-year (YoY) search growth across multiple Retail categories in the two weeks leading up to Mother’s Day in 2022. These were the top ten results:¹

1. Anti-Aging Beauty Products, +107% YoY
2. Apparel Accessories, +79% YoY
3. Cards & Greetings, +55% YoY
4. Clothing, +52% YoY
5. Commercial & Printing Services, +51% YoY
6. Flowers, +44% YoY
7. Footwear, +39% YoY
8. Gifts, +38% YoY
9. Jewelry, +33% YoY
10. Perfume, +30% YoY

When analyzing the top 100 queries made in the month prior to Mother’s Day 2022, we found that 25% of them were related to cards, poems, or drawings.¹ Consumers were looking for personalized, homemade, and DIY gift options more than previous years.¹ To find out more common search themes made last year, reference the following image.

Father’s Day

Similar to Mother’s Day search trends, we found that over the last three years, Father’s Day searches have peaked about one to two weeks prior to the holiday.¹ The top gifting categories in terms of YoY search growth were slightly different than Mother’s Day, however.¹ The top eight categories for Father’s Day when looking at YoY growth are listed in order, starting with Photo Cards.¹

While the top categories may differ by holiday, consumers were actively searching for personalized and DIY options for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.¹ In fact, 25% of all clicks on “Father’s Day” queries last June included personalization terms.¹

Delivery was also a popular theme for Father’s Day gifts last year, perhaps due to the increases in online shopping behaviors since the onset of the pandemic.¹ Over half of clicks (53%) relating to Father’s Day made in June 2022 included the terms “gift for delivery.”¹

Based on these results, advertisers should make sure they have both in-store and online shopping options and that the online shopping experience is seamless and easy for customers to find.

Pro tip: Target users who have seen your products online or left items abandoned in their online cart with Remarketing lists. Users exposed to Remarketing ads have a 68% greater conversion rate.

Conclusion and resources

With these top trending categories and query trends, you now have some more guidance into how to best set up your keyword strategy this spring. Adjust your bids and budgets now to ensure you’re prepared for upcoming gifting holidays.