WASHINGTON — Families are ready to splurge on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch, and apparel for the women in their lives to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, according to a national retail survey.

Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on mom this year, up nearly $10 from $162.94 last year and the highest amount in the 12-year history of the Mother’s Day Spending Survey sponsored by the National Retail Federation. Estimated total spending is expected to reach $21.2 billion.

Prosper Insights & Analytics conducted the survey, which was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the holiday.  The poll of 6,285 consumers was conducted April 1-9, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.

“We’re encouraged by the positive shift we’ve seen in spending on discretionary and gift items from consumers so far this year, certainly boding well for retailers across all spectrums who are planning to promote Mother’s Day specials, including home improvement, jewelry, apparel and other specialty retailers as well as restaurants,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

“We’re encouraged by the positive shift we’ve seen in spending on discretionary and gift items from consumers so far this year, certainly boding well for retailers.”

When it comes to gifts, the majority of consumers will pick up a greeting card for mom (80 percent), spending more than $786 million and more than two-thirds of those celebrating will buy flowers, to the tune of $2.4 billion. Shoppers also plan on gifting apparel and clothing items (35.8 percent), spending more than $1.9 billion, up from $1.7 billion last year.

Among the survey findings, families will surprise mom with a special brunch or activity ($3.8 billion), electronic items like a new smartphone or e-reader ($1.8 billion), personal services such as a spa day ($1.5 billion), house wares or gardening tools ($890 million) and books and CDs ($480 million).

Looking for a ‘wow’ from mom, 34.2 percent of Mother’s Day shoppers are planning to splurge on jewelry, spending a survey high of $4.3 billion for the special day, up from 31.7 percent and $3.6 billion last year.

One in four will shop online for Mother’s Day

Online shoppers plan to spend an average $252 — higher than the typical Mother’s Day shopper does — and more than four in 10 plan to use their smartphones to research products and compare prices.

Many people know that a gift card could go a long way: Two in five (44.2 percent will give mom a gift card, spending more than $2.2 billion.

“Mother’s Day is extremely unique and personal for millions of consumers, and families this year will look for different ways to enjoy their time with mom,” said Pam Goodfellow, Prosper’s principal analyst. “While some will splurge, others will search high and low for the perfect, practical gift, knowing that she likes any gift that comes from the heart.”

Most shoppers will head to department stores (33.4 percent, while others will shop at specialty stores (28.2 percent) or discount stores (24.8 percent). The survey also found that shoppers are ready to get out of the house after a long winter. Fewer respondents said they will shop online this year

(25 percent vs. 29 percent last year.)

The survey shows that 18- to 24-year-olds who own smartphones and tablets are most likely to use these devices to research products and compare prices for gifts (46 percent), and are most likely to use their tablets to purchase a gift (30.2 percent). However, this age group won’t necessarily be the biggest spenders compared with other age groups: 25- to 34-year-olds plan to spend an average of $244.32, compared with $214.81 for their younger counterparts.

The majority of shoppers plan to buy for their mother or stepmother (62.5 percent), while 23.2 percent will shop for their wife, 9.8 percent will shop for their daughter, 8.9 percent will shop for their sister and 7.4 percent plan to splurge on their grandmother.