What is the biggest mistake merchants make with Mother's Day discounts?

Biggest Mistakes Merchants Make with Mother's Day Discounts

Understanding what not to do during Mother's Day is as valuable as knowing best practices. These errors are common, measurable in their impact, and avoidable with straightforward adjustments to campaign structure.

Top Mistakes and Their Impact

The Cascading Effect of Deep Discounts

When a merchant offers 30 percent off sitewide during Mother's Day, a percentage of customers will not purchase for the rest of May at full price because they now have a recent price reference 30 percent below your standard pricing. The revenue lost to post-promotion full-price avoidance often exceeds the incremental revenue from the promotion itself. This is why targeted, private offers consistently outperform public promotional events on a long-term revenue basis.

Missing the Non-Gift Buyer Segment

Many Mother's Day campaigns focus entirely on gift buyers and ignore customers who are purchasing for themselves but are motivated by the seasonal context to buy something they have been considering. Self-purchase traffic during Mother's Day is significant, particularly for fashion, wellness, and beauty categories. Campaigns that only speak to the gifting angle miss this segment entirely.