local stores showing strong spending
Father may still take a back seat to Mother when it comes to their big day, but things are looking up in the gift category this year. “We’ve seen an uptick in spending on Dad for Father’s Day,” says Pam Goodfellow with BigInsight. Their survey for the National Retail Federation found that the average son or daughter plans to spend $117.14 on ole Dad this year. That’s up a whopping 10% from last year.
Stores are buzzing at San Antonio’s North Star Mall with less than a week to go until Father’s day. Shoppers say they’re weighing their options, talking about anything from a stack of chocolate candy bars to a Bass Pro Shop gift card as they search for the perfect gift. Goodfellow says those gift cards are increasingly popular with shoppers, who are expected to buy $1.7 billion worth of them for dad this year.
The most popular choice out there, however, is time. The BigInsight survey found that children plan to spend $2.3 billion on taking Dad out for a special event, like golfing, eating out or attending as sporting event. In that case, the Spurs losing in the playoffs may have spoiled a lot of plans out there.
Overall, Goodfellow says the increased spending is good news because it shows that consumers are increasingly more confident. And while she won’t claim that Father’s Day spending is a little known economic indicator, she does insist that “the economy has something to do with it.”
