Consumers’ retail spending for Father’s Day is expected to increase by about $1 billion this year, climbing from $16 billion last year to an estimated $17 billion. This is per a new forecast from the NRF, which shows spending on this special day reaching a new high. The expected growth comes despite another slight dip in the percentage of American adults planning to celebrate Father’s Day (75% this year compared to 76% last year and 77% in 2018). Those celebrating estimate that they will spend $149 each, on average – up from $139 last year.
This forecast increase in spending was also predicted with Mother’s Day this year, though the percentage of American adults who planned to celebrate Mother’s Day was expected to rise over the previous year.
By and large, in terms of retail, Mother’s Day is still a much bigger event than Father’s Day. For comparison’s sake:
- Total Mother’s Day spending this year was forecasted to be about 57% higher than this new prediction surrounding Father’s Day;
- More adults planned to celebrate Mother’s Day (86%) than are expected to celebrate Father’s Day (75%); and
- Celebrants planned to spend roughly $55 more per-person for Mother’s Day ($204) than they plan to spend on Father’s Day ($149).
The age group that is set to be the biggest spenders this year are 35-44-year-olds. However, they are not the age group with the largest percentage celebrating. That honor goes to 18-24-year-olds, with a full 90% expecting to celebrate.
Just like last year, greeting cards, planned by 59% of shoppers, are the most popular Father’s Day purchase. Next up is clothing (46%), followed by gift cards (44%) and special outings such as dinner or brunch (41%).
Although considerably less popular, other categories planned for purchase include personal care (25%), books/CDs (24%), electronics (23%) and tools or appliances (21%).
In terms of total spend, special outings top the list with a projected outlay of $2.8 billion despite the pandemic, followed by clothing ($2.6 billion), gift cards ($2.4 billion) and electronics ($2.0 billion).
NRF’s data also shows that although the largest share of consumers think it’s important to pick out a Father’s Day gift that is unique or different (41%) or creates a special memory (36%), retailers can influence purchase options, as 3 in 10 always or very often look to retailers for gift inspiration.
About the Data: The results are based on a survey of 8,209 US adults (18+) conducted from May 1-8, 2020. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1% points.
