Blog post submitted by Peter Radsliff

Market researchers have long assessed that the best Mother’s Day gifts are: quality time, spa time, and things homemade. But in a sign of how the times are changing, the number of tech—and specifically connected—products being advertised for Mother’s Day 2017 is telling.

According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Mother’s Day has become the biggest day of the year for portable appliance sales. “Millions of people are looking to show their mothers how much they love and appreciate them with a gift that will give your Mom a few minutes of escape, provide some comfort and relaxation, or even take over a chore entirely. Appliances can provide all of those,” AHAM noted in a recent article.

Of course, one would expect to see personal fitness trackers or an Apple Watch which also passes for jewelry another perennial favorite gift for Mom. But this year’s gift lists from some of the top consumer/tech lifestyle publications and bloggers, includes so much more.  From the popular personal assistants of the moment—Amazon Echo/Alexa or Google Home—to smart connected devices that can assist her in cooking, gardening, cleaning, security, and more. And, most of the items listed make great sense because they are aimed at freeing up her time, making her life easier, and providing her some peace of mind. Here is a sampling of the leading tech & lifestyle media’s choices for gifts this Mother’s Day:

In its online piece, “Smart Home Gadgets To Make You Mom’s Favorite,” CNET suggests gifts for boththe Moms who love, and hate, to cook. For the Mom-as-chef, CNET suggests the Anova Precision Cooker for sous-vide cooking (integrated with Alexa and Google Home). And for the Mom who prefers not to be bothered with laboring over the stovetop, Black & Decker has a Wi-Fi-enabled slow cooker. To help Mom with cleaning chores, CNET suggests the Neato robotic vacuum cleaner (see our recent blog post on robo-vacs), for set-it-and-forget-it convenience. And for Moms who want more peace of mind and convenience, you can’t beat the Nest Protect smoke and CO detector coupled with the money-saving Nest Thermostat. Add an Amazon Echo with Alexa voice commands and she can warm or cool the house without leaving her favorite chair.

Meanwhile, USA Today lifestyle and tech contributor, Carley Knobloch, also infused her list of “19 Gorgeous Mother’s Day gifts your Mom will love” with the Anova Precision Cooker as the sous-vide entry for the Gift of Cooking. They added the Nest Cam indoor camera for their Gift of Security.

Direct from the manufacturers, to help consumers choose the gift they think would make Mom’s day, we applaud AHAM’s Appliance Buying Tips for Mother’s Day. The AHAM tips start with: Get Mom what she wants! And end with the admonition, “Do your homework!” before making a purchase. In between, there is a lot of great advice on how to select appliances to make Mom happy! We just have to add that with the price tags attached to many appliances and connected devices, we agree that doing your homework ahead of time will ensure you get the right gift to fit your Mom’s lifestyle.

It’s a good thing that the National Retail Federation’s annual Mother’s Day survey (chart shown above) shows that American’s do plan to spend more than ever on Mom. Total spending is expected to reach $23.6 billion—the highest in the survey’s 14-year history and up from last year’s $21.4 billion. Below is a breakdown of planned purchases by category.

So if you are planning to step-up your Mother’s Day game, you are in good company. Sometimes getting a tech gadget for Mom can be an initial challenge, but if you throw in your time to set it up and show how it works, well, that’s really the best gift of all. 

For more information about Arrayent, the IoT cloud chosen by trusted brands, visit www.arrayent.com. You may be interested in our own list of products that ‘give the gift of connection’ from last December: here.