Father’s Day Spending to Increase 10%: Study

Gift givers are planning to spend more than ever this Father’s Day, according to the latest National Retail Federation survey.

The average person will shell out $117.14 on dad’s gifts this year, up 10 percent from $106.49 last year, according to NRF’s 2012 Father’s Day spending survey conducted by BIGinsight. That’s a closing the gap between its biggest competitor: Mother’s Day (consumers planned to spend an average of $152 on the holiday). Total spending for Father’s Day is expected to reach $12.7 billion.*

Consumers plan to splurge on a variety of gifts. According to the survey, more people this year will treat dad to a special outing, such as golfing, eating out or heading to a sporting event ($2.3 billion vs. $2 billion in 2011). They will also invest in electronic gift items ($1.7 billion vs. $1.3 billion last year) and apparel ($1.7 billion vs. $1.4 billion in 2011). Others will splurge on gift cards ($1.7 billion), sporting goods ($641 million) and books or music ($645 million).

When it comes to the number of men people plan to buy for this Father’s Day, the survey found consumers are likely to consider a variety of types of dads this year. Most people will buy for their father or stepfather (53.9% vs. 50.3% in 2011) and their husband (29.2% vs. 26.1% last year). Others will treat their son (9.7%), grandfather (5.3%), brother (6.8%) and friend (5.7%) to something nice.

“It should come as no surprise that dads are considerably more laid back when it comes to their special day, opting most times to simply spend quality time with loved ones at a restaurant or at home in the backyard,” said BIGinsight consumer insights director Pam Goodfellow. “But this Father’s Day it’s evident that consumers want to thank dad for the support and undivided attention he provides throughout the year.”

Department stores will be the location of choice for shoppers this Father’s Day – four in 10 (41.6%) say they will look for dad’s gift there. Others will shop at discount stores (34 %), specialty stores including greeting card/gift and electronics stores (28.6%), and specialty clothing stores (10.7%). Online retailers will see their fair share of “traffic” this year as well – nearly three in 10 (28.4%) will shop online, up from 22.1 percent who said so last year.

Mobile shoppers will be out and about these next few weeks as they seek the perfect gift for dad. More than one-quarter of those who own a tablet (25.2%) say they will use their tablet to make a Father’s Day purchase. Overall, more than half (54.6%) of tablet owners will use their device to research products and compare prices, redeem coupons and look up retailers’ information such as store hours and location.

The majority of smartphone owners will use their smartphone to research gift ideas and compare prices (26.7%), but others will look up store hours and location information (18.9%) and use apps to research or purchase products (11.3%). One in 10 (13.7%) will purchase a Father’s Day gift via their smartphone.

The NRF 2012 Father’s Day Spending Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Father’s Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGinsight. The poll of 8,789 consumers was conducted from May 2-8, 2012. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.