Father’s Day Spending to Remain Steady

As the smallest of the American gift-giving holidays, Father’s Day is a blip on the retail sales radar compared to Christmas and Mother’s Day, but the occasion won’t be overlooked by consumers.

According to National Retail Federation’s 2014 Father’s Day Spending Survey, the average person will spend $113.80 on gifts for dad, slightly down from $119.84 last year. Total spending for the holiday is expected to reach $12.5 billion.

While most people (64.1 percent) will simply say thank you to dad with a greeting card, four in 10 (41.6 percent) will treat dad to new apparel items such as neckties and sweaters, spending a total of $1.8 billion, while another 42.6 percent will celebrate with special outings such as dinner or a tickets to a sporting event, spending a total of $2.5 billion. 

The survey also found that those celebrating Father’s Day will spend $1.6 billion on electronic gifts like smartphones and tablets, and $1.8 billion on gift cards, letting dad pick his own special gift.

Consumers will also spend on tools or appliances ($663 million), sporting goods or leisure items ($662 million), home improvement items ($645 million), personal care items ($641 million), books or CDs ($555 million) and automotive accessories ($520 million).

“Knowing both cost and sentiment are important to their shoppers, retailers this Father’s Day will make sure to offer promotions on a variety of gift options, including home improvement items, tools and even apparel,” says Matthew Shay, president and chief executive officer, NRF. “As more people look for ‘experience gifts’ with tickets to baseball games or a day on the golf course, retailers will also make sure to promote their gift cards for families hoping to create the perfect gift package.”