WASHINGTON — If the National Retail Federation is right, Father’s Day spending will set a record this year, but Mother’s Day spending is still a lot higher.
The NRF’s annual survey, conducted by Prosper Insight and Analytics, says Americans will spend an average of $125.92 on Father’s Day gifts, for a total of $14.3 billion, the highest in the survey’s 13-year history.
That’s still well short of the $21.4 billion spent on Mother’s Day gifts this year.
“It’s encouraging to see consumers planning to splurge on dads,” said NRF Chief Executive Matthew Shay.
“This increase in spending could be a good sign related to consumers’ willingness to spend more as we head into the second half of the year.”
About $3.1 billion of that total will be spent on dinners, brunches and other Father’s Day outings.
Dad always needs a new tie, and clothing and gift cards tie as the second most popular Father’s Day spending, at $2 billion each. And many dads will get gadgets, with consumer electronics accounting for $1.7 billion in Father’s Day spending.
Dad also deserves a Father’s Day card, and greeting card purchases will account for $833 million of the total.
Children aren’t the only ones from whom dads get gifts. While 53 percent of purchases will be for fathers, 28 percent will be for husbands and 9 percent will be for sons.
The NRF survey included 7,200 consumers. The telephone survey was conducted between May 2 and May 10.
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19, 2016.
