Don't let mum down on Sunday

This time last year many of the supermarket's customers left shopping to the last minute. Photo / 123RF

Where would we be without Mum? Well if our shopping habits are anything to go by, the answer is: late.

Traditionally mums are the primary household shoppers but Kiwis are bad at rewarding them with gifts on their own special day, Mother's Day, according to Countdown sales data.

Worst of all, the data shows some Kiwis waited until the day after mum's special day to buy her a card last year.

This time last year many of the supermarket's customers left shopping to the last minute, with 39 per cent of flower sales in the week of Mother's Day occurring on the day itself.

Kiwis who got mum choccies were similarly disorganised - a quarter of those who shopped the week before Mother's Day bought theirs the day before, and another 20 per cent waited until the day itself.

In 2016, the supermarket chain sold three times as many boxed chocolates in the lead up to Mother's Day than in an average week.

While customers were a bit more organised when it came to greeting cards, 15 per cent still waited until Mother's Day to buy one - and another 121 Mother's Day cards were sold the next day.

But before you start feeling too sorry for all the unappreciated Kiwi Mums out there, spare a thought for the Dads who were even worse off. Last year Countdown sold six times more Mother's Day cards than the Father's Day versions.

But it doesn't have to be about flowers and chocolates - there's a lot to love about breakfast in bed, or a roast dinner.

Whatever you do - don't forget! Mother's Day is next Sunday, May 14.