Fine dining, crockery, pots, flowers, and jewelry continue to enjoy the lion’s share of consumer spending leading up to and during Mother’s Day, while biltong and winery dominate spending during Father’s Day. According to FNB data, on Mother’s Day in 2024, its customers spent approximately R50 million, compared to the weekly average of R38.8 million.
Distinctions
When comparing spending during the week leading up to Father’s Day and Mother’s Day over the last three years, the following trends are observed:
- Biltong spend is 22% higher for Father’s Day than for Mother’s Day, increasing from Friday sharply for Father’s Day and levelling off on Friday for Mother’s Day.
- Chocolate spend has a sharper increase for Mother’s Day than for Father’s Day yearly and a higher increase for Mother’s Day this year compared to previous years. Spend on chocolates for Mother’s Day is 25% higher than for Father’s Day.
- Flowers spend is 86% higher for Mother’s Day week than Father’s Day week.
- Gifts spend increases uniformly over the week although 2023 showed smaller increase for Father’s Day.
- Jewelers spend shows a sharper increase for Mother’s Day than for Father’s Day every year with Mother’s Day spend being 30% higher than Father’s Day spend.
- Nail and beauty salon spend is 20% higher in the week leading up to Mother’s Day.
- Spend at Spa and wellness is 11% higher for Mother’s Day, with an increase in spend concentrated near the weekend.
- Wineries spend is more pronounced for Father’s Day, with 2023 being an especially popular Father’s Day gifting choice at 63% higher than what we saw for Mother’s Day.
- Restaurant spend increases over the weekend for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Safe contactless card transactions
FNB Card CEO, Senzo Nsibande, says, “Our card activity indicates that Mother’s and Father’s Day holidays are important to many customers. The transaction volumes we are seeing indicate the safety and convenience of our payments solutions with contactless payments accounting for over 50% of all card payments.”
“We encourage our customers to use their FNB Virtual Cards as these have a dynamic CVV number that changes on a regular basis which reduces the risk of fraud. Customers can use their virtual cards to pay for online purchases, streaming services, subscriptions, and at the majority of QR code providers via the FNB app’s Scan to Pay feature.”
Rewards and benefits
“We also like to remind our customers to spoil their loved ones wisely by using value-added benefits included in our eBucks rewards programme to cut back on out-of-pocket expenses. Our eBucks Rewards programme offers relief by rewarding members for their banking behaviour and helping them save and stretch their hard-earned money during tough times.” concludes Nsibande
