Mother's Day is On May 14th this year. According to per capita data from The National Retail Federation, 1.9 million adult consumers in the Charlotte area plan to celebrate the occasion.

Between now and that special Sunday in May, the NRF expects a record $391.3 million to be spent in Charlotte to honor all the different moms in consumers' lives. Of those celebrating Mother’s Day, most (57%) are purchasing gifts for a mother or stepmother, followed by a wife (23%) or daughter (12%).

Comparatively speaking, Charlotte area consumers will spend 12.6% more to celebrate Monther's Day this year than they did in 2022, which was also a record year.

“Mother’s Day provides Americans with an opportunity to honor important women in their lives,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As people make plans to celebrate this year, retailers are prepared to help shoppers find gifts of appreciation and admiration for those they want to recognize on this special day.”

Almost half of all Mother's Day spending in the Charlotte area will fall into three categories:

1. Jewelry: $85,494,709
2. Special Outing: $61,380,817
3. Electronics: $43,843,411

The other half of Mother's Day spending includes purchases of gift cards, clothing, flowers, personal services, housewares, books, and greeting cards.

The challenge for Charlotte area retailers, however, is keeping a significant share of these Mother's Day dollars in local cash registers and out of the coffers of online sellers and department stores. Right now, according to the NRF, those two retail channels will gobble up almost 68% of all spending.

To earn a larger share of Mother's Day spending, local small business owners will need to advertise to convince Charlotte consumers of the benefits of buying from local companies.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Charlotte radio.

92,427 Charlotte area companies fit the description of being a small business, according to the US Census Bureau.  A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners found that after inflation, the most critical problem facing these businesses is the inability to recruit and retain quality employees.

Right now, says the Federal Reserve,  unfilled jobs remain near an all-time with 1.7 openings per unemployed person.  As a result, only one person is being hired per every four job openings.  To put this dismal hire-to-opening ratio in perspective, ten years ago, there was one hire per every job opening.

Compounding the recruitment woes of Charlotte's small business owners is the very stubborn quit rate.  According to the Federal Reserve, for every ten hires made, seven current employees quit. 

Although the labor crunch affects Charlotte business owners of every size, nearly half of all job vacancies are at companies with fewer than 50 employees.

So what is the best way for local small business owners to attract qualified candidates to fill open jobs?  Most metrics indicate that advertising on Charlotte radio may be the optimal choice.

There are 1,148,000 adult women in the Charlotte area. Based on research from the Harvard Business Review, as a consumer group, females account for 70-80 percent of all consumer purchasing through a combination of their buying power and influence.  According to Nielsen, this will amount to between $35.9 billion and $41 billion this year.

Overall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau:

• Single women across all income brackets spend, on average, $34,817 on goods and service
• Working married women contribute over a third of their families’ incomes
• Over a quarter (29.4%) of wives earned more than their husbands in 2018, an increase from 15.9% in 1981.

Furthermore, according to research published by Forbes:

• The top homebuyers after married couples are single women (18%, double the percentage for single men at 9%).
• Women are 50% more likely than men to regularly watch online how-to videos.
• 94% of women between the ages of 15-35 spend over an hour per day shopping online.
• 70% of travel consumers are women.
• 85% of women say that if they like a brand, they will remain loyal to it.

For Charlotte small business owners to successfully capture a meaningful share of the local female economy requires advertising.

Charlotte area consumers are expected to spend $72 million on Halloween related activities in 2020, according to information from the National Retail Federation.  This would be a slight 2.3% decrease from 2019. This is proof of the holiday's strong resistance to the pressures of a pandemic economy.

Based on data from the NRF's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than 1.2 million Charlotte adults plan to participate in Halloween-related activities. Among those celebrants, safe at-home activities ranked highest: 53 percent plan to decorate their homes, 46 percent plan to carve a pumpkin, and 18 percent will dress up their pet.

“Consumers continue to place importance on celebrating our traditional holidays, even if by untraditional standards,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Retailers are prepared to meet the increased demand for seasonal décor, costumes, and other items that allow families the opportunity to observe Halloween safely.”

To earn a large share of Halloween spending in 2020, Charlotte small business owner will need to advertise to let consumers know their stores are open, stocked, and ready. By any metric, advertising on Charlotte radio is the best way to reach holiday shoppers.