Father’s Day spending expected to reach record $15.5 billion

Consumers are reaching deep into their wallets this year to surprise dear dad with the biggest cumulative spending on record for the patriarchal holiday. Spending is expected to top $15.5 billion, beating last year’s record of $14.3 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics.

The average shopper will spend $134.75 for the holiday slated for June 18, nearly $9 more than last year’s average spend. NRF said 77% of consumers surveyed this year plan to celebrate the holiday in a variety of ways. It’s not just dad getting spoiled this holiday as shoppers say they will also buy for other men in their family. More than half of those surveyed plan to buy for their fathers or stepfathers (54%) while others will shop for their husbands (29%) or sons (10%).

“It’s encouraging to see that consumers are spending on special occasions such as Father’s Day,” said Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO. “This is a positive sign of strong consumer confidence heading into the second half of the year, and a good deal for all the dads who will reap the benefits.”

One of the most popular gifts for dad this year is going to be an “experience” as 25% of consumers say they will purchase concert tickets, or cover the cost of attending a ball game or some other sporting event. Experience gifts are favored by 27% of the dads surveyed.

Dinners, brunches and experience giving is expected to cost consumers $3.3 billion and roughly half of those surveyed said they will purchase a meal and or tickets for some event to give to their dad. About 43% of consumers will spend money on a gift cards for a total of $2.2 billion this year, another $2.2 billion will be spent on clothes for dad as 46% of consumers want to purchase apparel.

Consumer electronics are also a popular gift as one in five shoppers will spend a combined $1.8 billion on getting dad the latest tech gadgets. Classic Father’s Day gifts such as cologne, aftershave and razors will still be given by 21% of consumers for a total spend of $888 million. This particular category spend is expected to grow nearly 20% from a year ago, according to Pam Goodfellow, analysts at Prosper. She said the personal care category outpaced every other category in this year’s survey.

“With shoppers planning to be more generous to dad this year, the personal care category will be one to watch,” she added.

For the handyman dads, consumers will dole out $885 million on home improvement supplies ahead of this holiday. Greeting cards are still in vogue as 64% of consumers say they will purchase one for their dad for a cumulative spend of $861 million.

Retailers of all sizes are hoping to cash in on this holiday spend. Four in ten consumers will head to department stores and that’s a welcome sign for the challenged shopping channel. One in three said they will shop online and 26% will go to discount stores looking for the best possible deals. One in four plans to shop at specialty stores and 19% said they will shop a local small business.