According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Consumer Intentions and Actions Father’s Day survey, conducted by BIGresearch, Americans will shell out an average of $106.49 on dad, up from $94.32 last year and the most in the survey’s eight-year history. As dad gets more recognition, the gap between Mother’s Day spending (average of $140.73) and Father’s Day spending has narrowed substantially. Total Father’s Day spending is expected to reach $11.1 billion.
According to the survey, more people will take dad on a special outing this year, spending $2.1 billion on activities such as golfing, eating out or heading to the movies. Dads also will be receiving more gift cards ($1.4 billion), sporting goods ($653 million) and automotive accessories ($593 million). Traditional Father’s Day gifts such as electronics ($1.3 billion), clothing ($1.4 billion), home improvement or gardening tools and appliances ($1.4 billion), and books or CDs ($598 million) also will remain popular.
“Shoppers are putting more thought into Father’s Day gifts and are seeking out the perfect personal — yet practical — gift to say thank you to the man who’s always been there for them,” says Phil Rist, executive vice president, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch.
With so many options for Father’s Day, shoppers will head to various types of stores to find the perfect gift. More than one-third of shoppers will go to dad’s favorite department store (35.2 percent), and nearly as many (32.2 percent) will shop at discount stores. Additionally, more than one-quarter (26.9 percent) will hit a specialty store (electronics, gift store, etc.), and 22.1 percent will shop online. Just about one in 10 will shop at a specialty clothing store (8.9 percent).
Most people will buy for their father or stepfather this holiday (50.3 percent), but others will treat their husband (26.1 percent), son (8.0 percent), grandfather (4.7 percent), brother (5.8 percent) and friend (5.3 percent).
The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,344 consumers was conducted, May 3-10. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
Source: NRF & BIGresearch
