Mother’s Day: There are 4 main shoppers in the Middle East and North Africa, and they search early

Mother’s Day is nuanced in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Locals and expats show their mums the love across three days. (Or maybe they just love them three times more?)

Mother’s Day is celebrated on 14 March in the U.K., 21 March in MENA, and 8 May in the U.S., which means that people celebrate at different times across the region.

Shoppers start searching 4 weeks before the big day

Last year we saw a 41% increase in search interest for “Mother’s Day” related searches in March. This was specifically driven by searches related to the same term on YouTube, a new trend that emerged last year.¹ We expect this to continue this year.

We also saw a second spike during the month of May in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).² And — mothers would be proud of this — people start looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas four weeks before the moment.³

Source: Google Trends, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, 2021

There are 4 main types of Mother’s Day shoppers

People buy Mother’s Day gifts (some last-minute), turn to DIY, and whip up cakes for mamas in MENA. There are four main types of Mother’s Day shoppers in the region, and this is what they’re searching for:

1. Thoughtful gifters

These considerate shoppers look to the sentimental to tell their mothers how much they love them. For this group search interest increased by:

• 50% for “flower deliveries”
• 55% for “Mother’s Day card”
• 200% for “Mother’s Day gift”

2. Last-minute shoppers

These busy consumers are looking for speedy-to-deliver but still precious gifts that show mums how special they are. For this audience we saw search interest increase by:

• 165% for “next day delivery”
• 40% for “voucher card”

3. DIY-ers

These savvy shoppers put extra effort into creating unforgettable moments for their mothers. For this segment we saw search interest increase by:

• 155% for “DIY gifts”
• 130% for “DIY Mother’s Day”

4. The stay-home celebrators

These shoppers prefer to stay-in and make memories for mamas on Mother’s Day. In this group we saw search interest increase by:

• 55% for “home party”
• 3.7X uplift for “cupcake recipe”

Sources: Google Trends, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Search interest increased by 240% for “gift ideas”, 3.7X for “cupcake recipe”, and 155% for “DIY gifts”, 7–21 March vs. 20 Feb.–6 March 2021. Google Trends, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Search interest increased by 40% for “voucher card”, March 2021 vs. March 2020.

Mother’s Day in MENA in a nutshell

MENA celebrates Mother’s Day three times a year. There are four types of Mother’s Day shoppers, and they start searching four weeks before the big day. They’re on the hunt for gift ideas, flower and next-day deliveries, cards, DIY ideas, home party inspiration, and recipes.

Key takeaways for marketers

1. There are three Mother’s Days in the Middle East. That means you have three chances to market your brand. Take time to double check that your website’s customer experience offering is on top form. Your site should offer great navigation, chat support, a customer-friendly checkout process, a returns policy, clear pricing, and adequate product information, to name a few. Grow My Store is a free tool you can use to analyse your store’s customer experience best practice. It also offers guidance on where to improve.
2. Shoppers start searching a month before the big day. Plan your marketing ahead to ensure your brand shows up in the moments people are searching. Smart Shopping can help simplify the process, with automation taking care of everything.
3. Engage last-minute shoppers by offering them something that’s not only unique and special, but also convenient. Strategic calls to action and localised creative will help capture (and keep) attention, while driving conversions too.