Still Shopping for Mother’s Day? You'll Pay 10% More

Still shopping for Mother’s Day? Be prepared to pay about 10% more for flowers, jewelry, or even a card thanks to persistent inflation.

Stationery supplies and greeting cards are 9.7% more expensive than last year, while jewelry is 9.9% pricier, according to an analysis by Investopedia. A one-carat diamond costs about $5,248, the latest data from the Diamond Price Index shows.

While prices for stationery supplies did drop 1% from February to March, and 0.2% from March to April, prices for that and jewelry rose faster than the overall year-over-year inflation rate of 4.9%. Total prices rose 0.4% in April from March, according to Consumer Price Index.

Flowers For Mom Will Be More Expensive

Indoor plants or flowers are 4.4% more expensive than last year, Investopedia’s analysis showed. 

Granted, those prices did drop 4.3% in April from March after increasing steadily since January. The average retail price for a dozen hybrid tea roses at grocery stores in April was $12.62, according to data from the USDA,

Makeup, perfume, and other cosmetics prices also rose this year, although the 5.1% increase was about half the increase for cards and jewelry. 

Methodology

Price changes come from April 2022 and 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. They are derived from the series: Stationery, stationery supplies, gift wrap, jewelry, indoor plants and flowers, cosmetics, perfume, bath, nail preparations and implements, and women’s apparel.

The data reflect average retail price for greeting cards, diamond price per carat, bunched dozen hybrid tea roses, lipstick, and women's denim jeans. Greeting card price data are from the Greeting Card Association, diamond price data from DiamondSearchEngine, hybrid tea rose price data from the USDA Market News Retail Dataset, and lipstick price data from Edited. All prices have been adjusted for inflation to reflect April 2023 prices with the BLS Consumer Price Index for all items.