Building a Better Mother’s Day Dining Experience: 3 Key Findings From Ignite Consumer

As a mom of a toddler, preschool and third grader, dining out at restaurants is something that comes at a cost these days—and I don’t mean financial cost, although it is quite expensive as a family of five. Despite my wishes for a peaceful dining experience complete with savoring the sips of my favorite cocktail, family restaurant visits tend to be more lively than leisurely.

Dining out with my kids accompanies cheerful chaos because I’m also an avid resistor to new societal norms: tablets at the table. I instead prefer more traditional methods—Crayola or small toys—to entertain them at restaurants. I find that this keeps the peace temporarily, but eventually, my toddler makes his way out of the highchair and onto my lap (hence the end of any leisurely cocktail sips).

With Mother’s Day right around the corner and a potential family restaurant occasion in my future, I turned to Ignite Consumer to better understand the role restaurants have in celebrating moms on this special day.

Here are three key findings about Mother’s Day occasions from Ignite Consumer:

1. Traditional Dine-In Experience With Strategic Carryout Options

While 74% of Mother's Day celebrations occur inside restaurants, there's a notable 20% who choose carryout, which is significantly higher than the typical 12% on regular days. For operators, this dual demand suggests the need to optimize both dine-in and carryout operations, ensuring each service model maintains high standards during this high-volume holiday. Neglecting the experience of those carryout orders can negatively impact overall experience and likelihood to return.

“Granted it was Mother’s Day, but they were so disorganized with their curbside pickup that day. I placed a preorder but still waited 40 mins beyond my scheduled pickup time to get my food. Those inside answering the calls did not know what employees outside were doing. My order was cold and the food was disappointing.”—Reason for Bad Overall Rating

2. Strategic Daypart Management

Mother's Day sees a unique daypart distribution, with dinner at 52% and lunch showing strong performance at 40%, a marked increase from the usual 26% for lunch on regular days. Operators should consider extending peak staffing and preparation across both dayparts, potentially offering special menus or promotions during lunch hours to maximize this increased demand.

Furthermore, one in five dining parties included children under 12 on Mother’s Day. These families with younger children might be behind the increased share of lunch visits, as earlier celebrations can be more kid-friendly. Staff friendliness toward children in the party can go a long way with moms and in enhancing the overall experience.

“We went to celebrate Mother’s Day. The waiter was great and didn’t rush us and made my kids laugh and smile.”—Reason for Excellent Overall Rating

3. Elevated Service and Quality Expectations

Despite the holiday rush, guests maintain high expectations, with 72% rating friendly service as "very good" and 68% praising food quality. The higher median spend of $45 (compared to $30 on regular days) indicates guests are willing to pay more, but operators must ensure consistent quality across all aspects, from service to food presentation. Restaurants should focus on staff training and operational efficiency to maintain these standards during high-volume periods.

“We always have a wonderful experience here. We went for Mother's Day, and even though it was busy, we had wonderful service and food.”—Reason for Excellent Overall Rating

Mother's Day represents more than just another busy service day in the restaurant industry—it's a unique opportunity to create lasting memories and build customer loyalty. The data clearly shows that consumers are willing to spend more and have heightened expectations for their dining experience during this celebration. Success requires a delicate balance of operational excellence, service quality and thoughtful attention to the unique dynamics of Mother's Day dining parties. By understanding and adapting to these patterns, restaurants can not only capture the immediate revenue opportunity but also establish themselves as trusted destinations for future family celebrations.

About Technomic:
Technomic Inc. was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic’s services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking and other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth.

About Informa:
Informa is a leading international B2B markets, live and on-demand events and digital services group. They connect businesses and professionals in 30+ industries with the knowledge they need to learn more, know more and do more. Informa has hundreds of global brands, products and services and employs 11,000 employees in ~30 countries worldwide.

Informa Connect is a content-led, live and on-demand experiences business which connects professionals with knowledge, ideas and opportunities. Informa Connect, a community of over 1,000 colleagues globally, offers connection through events, media and research. They service a number of different industries including Finance, Bio Tech and Pharma, Restaurant and Food, Catering, Event Planning, Pop Culture, Marketing, Law, Energy, HR, Sustainability, Construction.

Find out more about Informa and the Informa Connect division at www.informa.com and www.informaconnect.com.