Unlike last March, when the UK was in lockdown, this year UK adults are able to celebrate Mother’s Day unrestricted.
Throughout the year, we understand how people are feeling on a monthly basis, we focus on different topics by month depending on what is important to the general public.
For March, we spoke to over 1,000 people to understand their emotions and what plans they have for the month ahead, with a focus on Mother’s Day and health care purchases for spring.
The March paper brings you an understanding of what the general mood of the nation is in the United Kingdom and how the UK feels about Mother’s Day, how they will be spending and their plans to celebrate.
How is the UK is feeling about March?
When we conducted our nationally representative survey in February there was a lot going on in the UK. The UK describes their feelings towards the month of March as ‘Optimistic’, ‘Excited’ and ‘Happy’. For March this year, UK adults are feeling happier compared to last year and using our response analysis, 53% of our sample reported a positive emotion for March 2022 compared to 44% last year.
However, the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia is likely to have had a negative impact on how the UK is feeling about the world around them, our data for next month’s Mood of the Nation will show us the scale of the impact.
Through the Spark Emotional Wheel, which is our bespoke tool that helps us quantify emotions, we have found the mood of the UK public has improved compared to March last year. They are feeling ‘Elated’ whereas last year UK adults felt ‘Joyful’. All scores of Happiness, Excitement and Control have all increased as we head towards warmer weather, lighter evenings, and spring.
Our Spark Emotional Wheel allows us to get a read of how the UK is feeling in March 2022
What will UK adults do for Mother’s Day this year?
Significantly more UK adults are planning to celebrate Mother’s Day this year (69%) compared to 2021 (52%) and a meal together is top of mind for almost 2 in 5. Millennials are most likely to make the effort around food as 81% will plan a special meal. Men are almost twice as likely to plan breakfast so retailers should consider meal inspiration for fathers and kids to prepare together. Half are planning to have these meals at home suggesting an opportunity to prompt meal ideas.
How will the UK shop for Mother’s Day in 2022?
The majority of UK adults (45%) will be spending between £20-50 on Mother’s Day but budgets are varied. While about a third of shoppers will keep to under £20, a quarter will be spending above £50 so consider gifts in a variety of quality ranges to appeal to all budgets. Men plan to spend more on the day (£83 on average) but they may be buying with their children as well as for their own mothers so retailers need to consider suitable gift choices for all ages.
In Summary
This Mother’s Day, UK adults will be focussing on meals together and exchanging gifts. Unlike last year when the nation was in lockdown, this year, we expect to see people making the most of spending time together so retailers should be looking for ways to facilitate this.
How can you help?
The UK feels Elated about March and Spring, Mother’s Day is a key event as the first cultural event in a long time with no COVID-19 restrictions. For the time in a long time, families will be able to spend the day together. Encouraging time together over food, with fun recipe inspiration and activities will help families make the most of Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day drives positive emotions in people, especially those with children, think about ways you can tap into these emotions through your marketing comms.
To download the full March Mood of the Nation for 2022, click on the image below or here
Written by Tara Moran, Research Executive at Spark Emotions.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Tara via email tara.moran@sparkemotions.com or connect on LinkedIn
