comScore Media Metrix examines the impact of this May holiday on ecommerce and visitation in specific retail categories.

Holidays, such as Mother’s Day, have a considerable impact on the retail industry, both online and offline. Last year, consumers spent $114 million online in the Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category during the week of Mother's Day, which fell on May 9. This represents an increase of 182 percent compared to the average of the four previous weeks. It is also significantly more than was spent during the week of Valentine's Day ($89 million). Only two weeks surpassed Mother's Day -- the week ending 12/12/04 ($116 MM) and 12/19/04 ($152 MM) -- both due to the winter holiday season.

In the Jewelry & Watches category, consumers spent $57 billion in the two weeks leading up to Mother's Day in 2004. This compares to $65 billion spent during the two weeks leading up to Valentine's Day. By far the biggest time of the year for this category is December when $175 million was spent during the two weeks ending 12/19/04.

Other categories also experienced significant growth in visitation during the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day. Visitation to the online Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category increased 80 percent from the week ending May 2, 2004, to the week ending on Mother’s Day in 2004.

In addition, traffic significantly increased to sites that offer electronic -- and often free -- “e-cards” to be distributed via email. The category saw a traffic increase of 55 percent in the week leading up to Mother’s Day in 2004.