Shoppers are spending more on dads this year, but not nearly as much as they spend on their moms.
The National Retail Federation, in conjunction with Prosper Insights & Analytics, surveyed 7,200 U.S. shoppers in early May and found that consumers expect to spend $14.3 billion on dads for Father’s Day this year, up 12.6% from $12.7 billion last year. While that $14.3 billion represents a double-digit year-over-year increase, it still pales in comparison to the $21.4 billion shoppers spent on Mother’s Day gifts this year.
Other shopping trends from the NRF’s report include:
- 32.4% of shoppers plan to buy something for their dads online this year, compared to 29.2% last year.
- 19.1% of shoppers that own a tablet plan to buy something for Dad on it this year, compared to 17.5% last year. Those surveyed also said they will research gifts on those devices. This year, 32.0% of tablet owners will use those devices to gather information and compare prices on gifts, compared to 29.1% last year.
- 15.7% of shoppers intend to buy Dad a gift this year on their smartphones, compared to 13.1% last year. More consumers also plan to use phones to research the perfect gift, with 30.4% doing so this year compared to 24.1% last year.
- A lot of dads will receive clothes, with consumers expected to spend $2.0 billion on apparel. Other popular categories include gift cards ($2.0 billion), consumer electronics ($1.7 billion), and home improvement/gardening supplies ($800 million).
Not only are shoppers spending less on their dads for Father’s Day than they spent on their moms for Mother’s Day, brands and retailers are expected to spend less to attract those shoppers. Data from paid search firm AdGooroo, which analyzed 42 Mother’s Day and Father’s Day-related keywords in 2015, shows that advertisers spent $3.6 million in paid search to attract Mother’s Day shoppers, but less than half that amount—$1.7 million—on Father’s Day. Not only that, Father’s Day drew fewer overall advertisers (1,088) than Mother’s Day (3,633).
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