COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shopping for Mother's Day is down to the wire for some shoppers, and according to recent surveys, last-minute shopping is pretty common.
Several people were out at Soda City Market this Saturday getting last-minute gifts for Mother’s Day.
According to a survey by Statista, Deidra Henry is one in 10 Americans who waited until the day before or until the day of Mother’s Day to pick up a gift.
"I just stopped in to pick up some flowers before I drive out to meet her for brunch," Henry said.
According to the National Retail Federation, Henry's gift of flowers is also a trend this year, coming in as one of the top three gifts purchased in the U.S.
According to the National Retail Federation, flowers, greeting cards, and special outings are the top three things purchased this year, with the average person spending about $250 for Mother’s Day.
Flower farmer Donna Mills said she is happy to help with any final purchases.
“It's my favorite holiday. I love that everyone thinks of it [flowers] when they think of their mothers because you should... every mother loves flowers," Mills said with a smile.
Donna owns a Floral and Hardy farm in Lexington, and she works growing flowers to help folks like Demetrius Molden. Molden said he was shopping Saturday for something special as the finishing touch to his family’s Mother’s Day celebration.
“Right now, we're just doing a cookout. We're going to invite everybody, my mom, my brother, and his wife, and just invite everybody to the house to cook out," Molden said. "This is not last minute. There's plenty of planning going on. I just waited for Saturday to get the flowers and some produce."
Molden said no matter the gift, it's the thought that counts.
Overall, the National Retail Federation said all those flowers and cards bought this year will result in Americans spending $33.5 billion on Mother’s Day in 2024.