NRF Retail Reference Center - Father's Day Trends 2009

Americans are expected to spend an average of $90.89 on gifts for dad, down slightly from $94.54 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $9.4 billion.  Highlights from NRF’s 2009 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey include:

• Consumers will spend the most ($1.9 billion) on a special outing such as a dinner or even a sporting event.  Clothing still ranks high among gift givers who are expected to spend $1.3 billion on new socks, slacks and ties.

• Others will treat dad to a gift card ($1.2 billion), electronics ($1.0 billion), books or CDs ($548 million), home improvement items ($522 million) and sporting goods ($502 million).

• Discount stores and department stores will be going head to head this Father’s Day as 33.9 percent of Americans plan on shopping at discounters and 33.7 percent will shop at department stores. Others will head to specialty stores like electronics and home improvement stores (26.8%), online (17.9%), at specialty clothing stores (6.1%) or through a catalog (2.8%).

• The majority of those surveyed said they will only buy for their father/stepfather (51.1%). Husbands (28.6%), sons (7.6%), grandfathers (4.7%) and brothers (5.1%) will also see gifts from family members.

Find out how 2009 Father's Day spending compares to 2008 and other recent holidays.  View consumer spending data for Graduation, Mother's Day, Easter, and Valentine's Day, or watch the most recent Consumer Intentions and Actions Video Briefing.

The NRF 2009 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Father’s Day holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,447 consumers was conducted from May 5-12, 2009. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.