The folks at Google have just shared an infographic that shows Mother’s Day gift trends. And search engine marketers – especially ones that have waited until the last minute to figure out what to give mom this Sunday – will be delighted with the data, even if the graphics are a little cheesy. And SEMs are not alone. According to the Google infographic below, Mother’s Day ranked third (behind Christmas and Valentine’s Day) for “last minute” searches related to gifts.

For example, searches for the “best mother’s day gift” in May 2014 were up nearly 40% from the previous year. And Mom would be pleased to learn that people actually started looking for gift ideas earlier (April searches were up 53% year-over-year). And it’s worth noting that searches for “best mother’s day gift” on mobile were up 51% year-over-year.

By the way, the Google infographic says, “Flowers are no longer the go-to gift for Mother’s Day.” That’s unwelcome news for all the florists who have made a bundle selling spring tulips, carnations, and calla lilies to all of us last-minute shoppers. But, according to the data in Google’s infographic, search interest for flowers around Mother’s Day has decreased over the past four years (down 19% since 2011).

On the other hand, arrangements of the edible variety are growing in popularity. For example, search interest in “fruit baskets” grew nearly 20% in May 2014 year-over-year.

This represents a huge opportunity for retailer Edible Arrangements, as Kaitlin Reiss, the company’s VP of Marketing, Ecommerce, notes. She adds:

• “We see an obvious trend away from traditional gifts toward options that are more unique and special.”

• “We are also seeing a trend in consumers spending more on celebrations, such as preparing a brunch for their mother or taking her out for a meal. And they are ordering our arrangements for purposes such as a table centerpiece.”

• “With most of our traffic coming from search engines like Google, it’s critical we have a consistent presence throughout the holiday…In addition to traditional search ads, PLA’s (Product Listing Ads) are an important part of our strategy because of the visual appeal of our arrangements. They are a very effective way to capture and engage the consumer.”

SEMs who want to see what’s available in the fresh fruit bouquet category should check out the Edible Arrangements channel on YouTube. Or, watch the “Edible Arrangements Mother’s Day Commercial 2015.”

Now, I’ve got nothing to disclose. Edible Arrangements isn’t a client and I haven’t received anything for mentioning them in this post. However, our kids sent my wife a get well fruit basket last September. And I confess that I helped her to eat it.

And for SEMs who are interested, here’s the company’s backstory:

Tariq Farid was born in Pakistan in 1969 and immigrated to the United States when he was 11. He grew up in West Haven, Connecticut and became a U.S. citizen in 1986.

As a teenager, Tariq worked in a local McDonald’s for several years and it was there he learned the power of business systemization. Soon after his entrepreneurial experience began in the late 1980s, when, at age 17, he used a $5,000 loan from his parents to purchase a local flower shop. Within two years, Tariq was operating four highly successful stores.

He launched the first Edible Arrangements store in 1999 in East Haven, Connecticut. He was inspired by the convergence of three trends: Americans’ growing consumption of fresh fruit, the robust growth in the specialty food market and the increasing amount of money Americans were spending on gifts.

The first Edible Arrangements franchised location opened in 2001 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Fifteen years later, Edible Arrangements has grown to more than 1,200 stores worldwide, and Tariq’s involvement with franchisees has been a hallmark of the Edible Arrangements franchise success story. He regularly spends time in the stores to stay in contact with guests, and to understand the unique day-to-day challenges each store faces in an ever-changing marketplace.

Interestingly, a lot of people told him the Edible Arrangements was a terrible idea. He wrote a blog post about it.

Now that I’ve shared the backstory of Edible Arrangements, if you still want to find other Mother’s Day gift ideas, then you can check out some other trends in the Google infographic below. Spoiler alert: It says, “Moms are favoring an experience over flowers.”

You can also download it here.