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Money, the Beatles sagely advised, can’t buy you love, but if it could, mothers would be top sellers this year. While the $22.4 billion Americans are projected to spend on Father’s Day is the second highest in the 21 years since the National Retail Federation has been surveying consumers on their projected spending for the holiday, it’s about a third less than the $33.5 consumers said they’d spend on Mother’s Day this year.
Serves them right for all those dad jokes.
Father figures: Three-quarters of consumers will celebrate Father’s Day this year, spending an average of $189.81.
As it does with its Mother’s Day data, NRF inexplicably characterizes greeting cards as “gifts” and deems them this year’s most popular gift: 58% of shoppers planned to buy one. If you think a greeting card is more akin to wrapping paper, the actual most popular gift is clothing (matching polo shirts, anyone?), which 54% of shoppers intended to purchase, followed by “a special outing” (52%), gift cards (48%), and personal care items (31%).
As for that last one, Dad’s grooming regimen appears to be improving. Personal care is the fastest-growing gift category, growing from $0.9 billion in 2019 to $1.6 billion in 2024, an increase of 78%. It also raises the likelihood of this once-rare request: “Dad, can I use your micellar cleansing water?”
Respondents are most likely to make their purchases online (42%), followed by at department stores (38%), discount stores (24%), specialty stores (22%), and local/small businesses (19%).
The NRF report, in collaboration with Prosper Insights & Analytics, surveyed 8,580 consumers from May 1–8.
Raising the steaks: Restaurants getting ready for Father’s Day will want to adjust their orders and prep work, according to data from last year’s holiday that Toast released recently.
CVS needn’t worry about its Lipitor orders lagging: Barbecue sales increased by 98% on the holiday last year compared to an average June day, and steak sales grew 53% compared to an average Sunday in June.
You’ll never guess what happened with salad sales: They wilted, decreasing 26% compared to an average June day.