WASHINGTON, June 3, 2014 – As the smallest of the American gift-giving holidays, Father’s Day is a blip on the retail sales radar compared to Christmas and Mother’s Day, but the sentimental importance of the occasion will never be overlooked by consumers. According to NRF’s 2014 Father’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average person will spend $113.80 on neckties, tools, electronics and other special gifts for dad, slightly down from $119.84 last year. Total spending for the holiday is expected to reach $12.5 billion.*
“Knowing both cost and sentiment are important to their shoppers, retailers this Father’s Day will make sure to offer promotions on a variety of gift options, including home improvement items, tools and even apparel,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “As more people look for ‘experience gifts’ with tickets to baseball games or a day on the golf course, retailers will also make sure to promote their gift cards for families hoping to create the perfect gift package.”
While most people (64.1%) will simply say thank you to dad with a greeting card, four in 10 (41.5%) will treat dad to new apparel items such as neckties and sweaters, spending a total of $1.8 billion, while another 42.6 percent will celebrate with special outings such as dinner or a tickets to a sporting event, spending a total of $2.5 billion. The survey also found that those celebrating Father’s Day will spend $1.6 billion on electronic gifts like smartphones and tablets, and $1.8 billion on gift cards, letting dad pick his own special gift.
Consumers will also spend on tools or appliances ($663 million), sporting goods or leisure items ($662 million), home improvement items ($645 million), personal care items ($641 million), books or CDs ($555 million) and automotive accessories ($520 million).
Dad’s loved ones will look for gifts at a variety of locations, including discount stores (28.1%), online (28.4%) and specialty stores (24.2%); 16.6 percent say they plan to support their communities and shop at a local or small business to find gift items for dad. Most shoppers, however, will head to dad’s favorite department store (35.8%).
“As we saw with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day this year, consumers are keeping to a strict budget,” said Prosper Insight’s Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. “Whether they spend $10 or $100, millions of Americans will find creative, affordable ways to show dad how much they care.”
On-the-go shoppers will use their smartphones and tablets to research and purchase gifts for dad this year. Nearly one-quarter of smartphone owners (23.4%) will research products and compare prices on gifts using their smartphone, and three in 10 tablet owners (30.6%) will do the same. Nearly one in five (18.2%) will purchase products with their tablet for Father’s Day.
More than half of survey respondents plan to shop for their father or stepfather (52.3%) and 27.6 percent will look for ways to show their appreciation for their husband.
* Total spending an extrapolation of US population 18+
About the Survey
The NRF 2014 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 Prosper Insights & Analytics. The poll of 6,540 consumers was conducted from May 6-13, 2014. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.
Prosper Insights and Analytics delivers executives timely, consumer-centric insights from multiple sources. As a comprehensive resource of information, Prosper represents the voice of the consumer and provides knowledge to marketers regarding consumer views on the economy, personal finance, retail, lifestyle, media and domestic and world issues. www.ProsperDiscovery.com
NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s This is Retail campaign highlights the industry’s opportunities for life-long careers, how retailers strengthen communities, and the critical role that retail plays in driving innovation. nrf.com
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