NRF: Spending on Father’s Day to top $12.5 billion

Washington, D.C. -- The average person will spend $113.80 on neckties, tools, electronics and other special gifts for Father’s Day, slightly down from $119.84 last year, according to NRF’s 2014 Father’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total spending for the holiday is expected to reach $12.5 billion.



“While most people (64.1%) will simply say thank you to dad with a greeting card, four-in-10 (41.6%) 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.



Shoppers will look for gifts at a variety of locations, including discount stores (28.1%), online (28.4%) and specialty stores (24.2%); 16.6% 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%).



“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.