WASHINGTON — How much are you spending for Father’s Day? Shoppers expect to spend an average of $115.57 this year, according to a survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation.
That’s about the same as last year’s $113.80. Meanwhile, gift intentions for Mother’s Day this year averaged $173.
Father’s Day purchases in order of survey popularity:
- Experience gifts, such as golf lessons, ballgame tickets or dinner out;
- Apparel, such as a dress shirt or necktie;
- Gift cards;
- Electronic gadgets such as a tablet or smartphone.
Dads also can expect to receive home improvement and gardening supplies, tools or appliances, personal care items and sporting goods or leisure items.
Whether dads tend to be less sentimental, or less-engaged parents than moms, may be a debatable question and this and past NRF survey results don’t explain the disparity, but fewer fathers can expect to receive greeting cards on their special day than mothers did last month. Eighty percent of respondents intended to buy Mother’s Day cards; only 62 percent for Father’s Day.
The survey finds more than three-quarters of Americans plan to celebrate Father’s Day.
