Drew Wilson
Florida retailers are expecting dads to get a load of gifts this year as consumers are predicted to spend near a record high for Father’s Day.
A new survey from the National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend $15.3 billion on dads nationwide, the second highest total spend in the 15 years the retail trade group has tracked Father’s Day spending. That works out to $133 for each son, daughter, spouse or friend grabbing a gift for the dads in their lives.
“Consumer confidence remains high, unemployment is at a 10-year low, and our state’s economy remains strong which means Floridians have more money in their pocket to spend on fathers this year,” R. Scott Shalley, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation. “The retail industry remains robust, and I’m excited about what these spending numbers mean for our member retailers this year.”
The NRF survey found millennials would be the biggest spenders this year, dropping an average of $188 apiece on a gifts. Overall, 53 percent of consumers said they’ll be shopping for their fathers or stepfathers, while 27 percent are picking up something for their husband and 10 percent are grabbing a gift for their sons.
The most popular shopping category this year, spending wise, is clothing. Ties and dress shirts have always been a staple of Father’s Day, and about 43 percent of consumers plan to keep that tradition going with an estimated $2.2 billion in menswear purchases.
A fifth of shoppers plan to spend their wad decking out dad with the latest tech, which will make up $1.8 billion of total spending, while another $878 million will be spent helping fathers stock up for their next home improvement project.
Several other categories followed at the $800-million plus spending level, including personal care products, greeting cards and tools or appliances. Coming just behind were sporting goods, stuff for the car and books or albums.
But not all spending is done at the store. Following similar trends observed for other holidays, the single highest spending category of the weekend will be “special outings” or “gifts of experience” such as concert tickets or taking dad out to dinner.
Nearly half of consumers say their spending will focus on providing the dad in their life with such outings or experiences, which will account for $3.2 billion of projected spending.
The survey of 7,681 consumers was conducted May 3-10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
