Father’s Day to deliver record spending splurge across the States
Spending for Father’s Day is predicted to hit a record $27.9 billion this year, up from $24 billion in 2025.
According to new data from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insight and Analytics, the spending splurge across the US is thanks to the 77% of consumers planning on celebrating.
Of those 77%, the average spend is expected to reach $226.58, up from the previous record of $199.38 last year.
Reflecting on the data, the NRF’s chief economist and executive director of research, Mark Matthews, said: “Despite economic pressures, Father’s Day remains just as important to shoppers as in years past.”
Adding: “In order to make the holiday fit their budgets, shoppers are pulling back in other spending areas. Retailers continue to meet consumer needs by offering items at affordable prices.”
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, spending has increased across all categories, with the exception of shoppers ages 65 and older.
Forty-five percent of consumers plan to buy a gift for a father or stepfather, followed by a husband (25%), son (13%), brother (10%), friend (8%) and grandfather (7%).
As in past years, greeting cards (60%) are the most popular gift for Father’s Day, followed by clothing (58%), a special outing (55%) and gift cards (52%).
Phil Rist, the executive VP of strategy, explained: “While nearly every gift category is seeing an increase in planned spending this year, electronics and personal care items have the largest gains. These items reflect consumers’ focus on giving dad practical and popular gifts, especially products that help make his life easier.”
As in recent years, shoppers remain focused on finding gifts that resonate with dad, with many saying it’s most important to choose something unique or different (44%) or one that creates a special memory (34%).
Similar to other holidays, subscription boxes and experiential gifts remain popular options.
Nearly one-third of consumers (31%) say they plan to give an experience, while 45% of shoppers are interested in gifting a subscription box.
Online remains the most popular holiday shopping destination at 38%, followed closely by department stores at 37%, while 26% of shoppers plan to visit a discount store, up from 23% in 2025.
*The survey of 7,914 consumers was conducted April 30 – May 6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
