The Business of Mother's Day
Daughters Buy More Cards Than Sons, Reports American Greetings

CLEVELAND, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Research from American Greetings (NYSE: AM) and an independent research firm reveals daughters purchase more cards on Mother's Day than sons. While nearly 80 percent of us will buy a card for mom this year, 83 percent of the cards will be purchased by females.

The research shows that these numbers have remained fairly consistent over the past five years. But don't get too down on the boys and men just yet. American Greetings believes that women are actually buying more than one Mother's Day card which makes this percentage so much greater.

"Some of the disparity occurs because women tend to purchase not only for their own mothers, but for all the mothers in their extended family," explained Kristi Latham, American Greetings Mother's Day program manager. "This can include stepmothers, daughters, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, godmothers, aunts and even their friends who are moms."

Mother's Day remains the third-largest card-sending holiday. The International Mass Retailers Association and American Greetings also reports that the holiday ranks second only to Christmas in gift giving.

Working Moms -- The 2000 U.S. Census Bureau found that, as of 1998, 58 percent of women who had given birth returned to the work force. That number represents an increase of 21 percent from 1980.

Children of all ages, whether their moms work or not, recognize the value of appreciating mom one day a year. One American Greetings card, from an adult child to her mom, shows a woman trying to fix dinner with one child pulling at her apron, and another with paint everywhere, and reads: "I'm beginning to understand the miracle of what you did. Happy Mother's Day."

American Greetings also reports that some 144 million greeting cards will be given industry wide this year for Mother's Day. It is also the #1 day of the year for long distance phone calls and the busiest day of the year for restaurant dining.

Here are some additional Mother's Day facts and trends from American Greetings.

    Age of Mother's Day Card Buyers
    Age of buyer              2000 percentage
       1-18                           4%
      19-34                          26%
      35-65                          61%
         65+                          9%

Changing Family Dynamics -- The "face" of Mother's Day has changed.

Because family means so many different things today, American Greetings offers cards appropriate for single and divorced moms, stepmothers, foster mothers, caregivers, guardians and others who play motherly roles in the lives of children. There are even cards to "mom" from the cat.

Informal Lifestyles -- The "casual phenomenon" has impacted not only workplace attire, but entertainment choices, home decor and even the types of cards we are buying. According to American Greetings, the popularity of cards with short, direct messages and humor is a direct outgrowth of this trend. An intuitions card in the American Greetings line features a young girl putting on mom's lipstick and reads: "When I grow up, I want to be just like you. Happy Mother's Day."

Oops -- No excuses for forgetting mom these days. A lot of moms have a computer and most of their children are net-savvy. If mom got overlooked at the card store, americangreetings.com can save the day with a large assortment of online greetings with everything from animated cards to greetings from the cat.

American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. The company markets greeting cards under the brand names American Greetings, Forget Me Not, Carlton Cards and Gibson Greetings.

Business units include Balloon Zone, DateWorks calendars, Designers' Collection stationary, DesignWare party goods, GuildHouse candles, Learning Horizons educational products, Magnivision reading glasses, and Plus Mark seasonal gift wrap and boxed greetings. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings employs more than 21,000 associates around the world and drives more than $2 billion in annual sales. For more information on the company, visit http://www.americangreetings.com/ on the World Wide Web.