Mother’s Day is one of the biggest gifting occasions of the year. Bloom and Wild reports that about two thirds of Brits buy their mums a gift for Mother’s Day. In 2019 UK consumers spent £1bn on gifts for Mother’s Day, with each spending an average of £72.
This year, Mother’s Day falls on Sunday 14 March, so there’s plenty of time to find the right gift that expresses how you feel about your mother. While lockdown restrictions may be easing, it’s unlikely that there’ll be traditional family get-togethers this year. Our gifts will have to do some heavy emotional lifting. With a little help from social proof messaging, retailers can make sure everyone makes the right choice.
According to Serenata Flowers, the top Mother’s Day gifts are flowers (48%), chocolates (41%), house plants (24%), jewellery (24%) and shopping voucher or gift cards (20%).
Mother’s Day beats Valentine’s Day for the number of bouquets bought. Online flower delivery and flower subscription services have boomed during the pandemic. Yet, for the shopper who only buys flowers once or twice a year, the choice can be overwhelming. Hand tied bouquet or letterbox pack? Contemporary or natural design? What even is alstroemeria? Social proof messages about what’s popular, what’s trending and what’s available can help shoppers make their choice with confidence.
How great would it be to learn from other shoppers with real-time social proof if the photo of the gift was a true reflection of what was received eg. aggregating customer reviews who bought the ‘spring bouquet’ last time – ‘98% of rated this 5* for quality’.
Social proof is based on the principle that we are influenced by what other people do; we find it reassuring to know that others are looking at the same products as us or have bought the same item. It works across every product category and helps consumers make informed decisions whether they are spending a lot (Mother’s Day Hamper from Fortnum and Mason, £100) or not such a lot (personalised Toblerone, £12.99).
Messages based on aggregating consumer reviews from third party platforms such as Bazaarvoice provide an additional layer of useful information (‘87% gave this product 5 stars for quality’) for the shopper. And social proof works seamlessly across all the retailer’s digital touchpoints – websites, apps, emails, messages and social media.
As economic uncertainty and store closures persist into 2021, retailers will want to do everything in their power to help customers make the right choices online. Social proof is a responsible way to do that. Drawing directly on the retailer’s own data, Taggstar delivers factual messages that are accurate to within 5% of that source data.
It’s not just about shopping for gifts. Social proof messaging enhances the overall shopping experience, enhancing every step of the customer’s journey and helping them buy with confidence.