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Executive Summary:

Father’s Day, observed on Sunday, June 16, 2024, is the sixth most popular American holiday, surpassing Halloween but trailing behind the Super Bowl. While participation in Father’s Day celebrations has remained steady, spending is down, particularly on physical gifts. Demographic factors such as marital status, presence of children, and income strongly influence celebration plans.

Key highlights include:

 

Retail Trends, Spending, and Father’s Day Celebratory Patterns

By Dr. Martin Block, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University, Retail Analytics Council

Father’s Day (Sunday, June 16, 2024) is the sixth most popular American holiday, ranking between the Super Bowl and Halloween. Celebrating Father’s Day is among the topics covered by Prosper Insights & Analytics (www.ProsperInsights.com) in the monthly online surveys that collect data about annual events and related market behavior. Celebrating Father’s Day was asked in the May 2024 survey (n=8,580). In response to the question, “Do you expect to spend more, the same or less for Father’s Day than you spent last year?” Of the total, 24.6% said they don’t celebrate Father’s Day, leaving 75.4% who do. As shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Seasonal Holiday Participation.

 

Percent
Christmas 93.4
4th of July 87.2
Mother’s Day 84.2
Celebrate Easter 80.7
Super Bowl 76.9
Father’s Day 75.4
Halloween 73.1
St. Patrick’s Day 61.9
Valentines Day 52.0
Graduation 33.6

Recent Father’s Day Celebration History

The Father’s Day celebration rate has remained relatively flat, especially for the last five years, as shown in Figure 1. The rate dropped slightly in 2021, no doubt related to COVID-19.

Celebrating Father’s Day is more complicated because it can involve different people. Table 2 shows that the most common recipient is a father or stepfather, at 41.0%. This is followed by a husband, at 21.8%. The base is the total sample.

Table 2. Father’s Day Recipients.

Percent
 Father or Stepfather 41.0
 Husband 19.5
 Son 6.5
 Brother 6.4
 Friend 6.0
 Other relative 5.6
 Grandfather 5.0
 Godfather 1.5

The overall average planned spend of $184.81 was reported for Father’s Day, as shown in Table 3. This compares to the $254.04 reported for Mother’s Day last month.

The leading categories purchased are greeting cards, clothing, and a special outing. The categories in Table 3 are ranked by how often they are purchased. All categories, except greeting cards, have increased over the last eight years but have all declined year over year compared to 2023. The sharpest year-over-year percentage decreases are in more expensive physical items such as consumer electronics, automotive accessories, home improvement, gardening tools and sporting goods.

Table 3. Planned Father’s Day Buying.

Percent Spend Amount Year over Year AGR
Greeting Cards 58.4 12.74 -3.89 -0.70
Clothing 54.2 53.65 -1.11 1.58
Special Outing 51.6 74.28 -0.56 0.71
Gift Certificates 48.1 48.10 -0.20 0.99
Personal Care 31.5 28.40 -0.20 1.96
Tools or Automotive 24.6 66.18 -5.53 1.52
Consumer Electronics 24.2 60.74 -9.88 0.83
Books or CDs 23.0 27.52 -5.33 0.15
Automotive Accessories 22.0 46.25 -8.26 1.25
Home Improvement 21.9 46.87 -9.90 1.21
Sporting Goods 21.8 57.74 -8.58 1.11
Other 36.4 56.22 -9.62 0.69
Total Average Spend 75.6 184.81

Where celebrators are spending their money is also changing. Table 4 shows that online is the leading source for gift purchases, with just over 35%. Online and specialty clothing stores have both increased over the last eight years. However, even online, there has been a year-over-year decrease since 2023.

Table 4. Retail Outlets.

 

Percent AGR Year over Year
 Online 42.3 1.44 -1.94
 Department Store 38.3 -0.37 0.87
 Discount Store 23.6 -0.33 -1.40
 Specialty Store (Greeting Card/Gift Store, Electronics Store) 22.1 -0.21 -0.76
 Local/Small Business 18.9 0.19 -4.82
 Specialty Clothing Store 14.5 0.63 -4.75
 Catalog 2.0 0.0 -11.6

About one-third say they look to the retailer for gift inspiration, as shown in Table 5. Another third say they look sometimes. This represents a substantial opportunity for the retailer.

Table 5. Look to Retailers for Gift Inspiration.

Percent
Always 12.3
Very often 20.2
Sometimes 34.3
Not very often 15.6
Never 17.6

Table 6 shows what is important to celebrators when purchasing Father’s Day gifts. At 47%, the leading reason is finding a unique or different gift. This is followed by finding a gift that creates a special member at 39%. Convenience and cost-effectiveness are much lower on the list.

Table 6. Importance in Gift Purchasing.

  Percent
Finding a gift that’s convenient for me 24.0
Finding a gift that’s unique or different 46.7
Finding a gift that’s cheaper or most cost-effective 20.1
Finding a gift that creates a special memory 39.2
Other 8.6

Higher prices seem to be an important factor. Over three out of five say they have noticed higher prices, as shown in Table 7. The top reported categories with higher prices are clothing and dining out. Nearly one-fifth say they are celebrating more people.

Table 7. Noticed Higher Prices.

Percent
Yes, much higher 24.9
Yes, somewhat higher 37.5
The same 32.9
No, somewhat lower 2.5
No, much lower 2.2
Clothing 61.5
Dining out 60.8
Electronics 54.7
Tools or appliances 43.7
Home improvement or gardening supplies 41.6
Sporting goods or leisure items 38.4
Greeting cards 37.5
Automotive accessories 34.5
Personal care 33.8
Books or CDs 27.0
Other 3.5

As a result of noticing higher prices, the leading response is to take advantage of sales and promotions, as shown in Table 8. Cutting back, preparing a meal at home, and buying fewer gifts are also mentioned; about one-third say they are buying fewer or no gifts.

Table 8. Result of Higher Prices Plans.

Percent
Take advantage of sales and promotions 63.3
Cutting back in other areas 32.2
Prepare a meal at home instead of going out to eat 25.6
Buying gifts for fewer people 23.2
Not buying gifts 10.1
Using Buy Now, Pay Later 6.7

Another possible gift is a subscription box service. Celebrators were asked how interested they would be in giving a product subscription box service this Father’s Day. Table 9 shows that 41% are interested, and 39% are not. These responses almost exactly mirror the Mother’s Day responses.

Table 9. Interest in a Product Subscription Box Service.

Percent
Very interested 14.4
Somewhat interested 27.1
Not very interested 19.2
Not interested at all 39.3

Father’s Day Celebrators

Describing who the Father’s Day celebrators are is shown in Table 10. The comparison is made according to their planned spend in 2024. About 16.6% report planning to spend more. 47.4% plan to spend the same, while only 11.55% plan to spend less compared to 2023. The 24.6% that don’t celebrate was reported earlier. To facilitate comparison, an index is computed comparing the percentage of those who don’t celebrate to the total. As shown in Table 10, celebrators are more likely to be male, noting that those who are not celebrating are ranked lower. Those who are married, have children and are either Gen-Z or Millennial are more likely to celebrate Father’s Day. Those divorced or widowed and a Boomer or Senior are less likely to celebrate. Celebrators also have higher incomes.

Table 10. Celebrator Demographics.

Don’t Celebrate Total Don’t Index
Male 43.7 47.6 46.7 93.6
Female 56.3 52.4 53.3 105.6
Married 27.2 43.5 39.5 68.9
Living with Unmarried Partner 7.4 10.5 9.8 75.5
Divorced or separated 20.0 10.5 12.9 155.0
Widowed 10.0 3.7 5.3 188.7
Single, never married 35.2 31.8 32.6 108.0
Have Children 14.6 38.8 32.9 44.3
Income ($000) 52.2 62.1 59.7 87.4
Gen-Z 10.5 19.6 17.4 60.3
Millennials 13.7 28.0 24.5 55.9
Gen-X 25.2 28.8 27.9 90.3
Boomers 45.0 21.8 27.4 164.2
Seniors 5.6 1.8 2.7 207.4
Average Age 56.4 46.1 48.6 116.2
African American 8.3 9.5 9.2 90.2
Asian 2.0 2.6 2.5 80.0
Multi-Racial 1.9 2.2 2.1 90.5
Native American 1.4 1.6 1.5 93.3
White 29.4 25.8 26.7 110.1
Hispanic 52.1 51.8 51.9 100.4
Rural 26.9 25.2 25.6 105.1
Urban 38.2 38.4 38.4 99.5
Suburban 33.9 35.6 35.2 96.3

Happiness

Respondents are asked to rate their overall happiness across ten categories on a five-point scale. Table 11 shows the proportion of the combination of happy and totally happy. The unmistakable conclusion is that those who plan to celebrate Mother’s Day are happier than those who do not, as shown in the composite average. The biggest differences are in love life, work life, and government, as seen among previous Easter and Mother’s Day celebrators in the last two months.

Table 11.  Happiness by Father’s Day Celebration.

Don’t Celebrate Total Don’t Index
Health 47.4 53.0 51.6 91.8
Family 57.4 63.9 62.3 92.1
Friends 58.2 60.5 59.9 97.0
Love Life 37.6 53.3 49.5 76.1
Home 59.5 62.4 61.7 96.3
Religion 52.4 56.4 55.4 94.6
Work Life 33.2 43.3 40.9 81.2
House 56.1 59.3 58.5 95.8
Neighborhood 57.3 57.8 57.7 99.3
Government 16.8 22.6 21.2 79.3
Composite 47.6 53.3 51.9 91.7

Summary

Father’s Day ranks between the Super Bowl and Halloween. Celebrating the day has remained almost flat in the last eight years. Spending, however, is also down, especially on physical gifts. The presence of children, age, marital status, and income are the strongest predictors of planning to celebrate. Celebrators are shopping more online, even though shopping is slightly down in 2024. Father’s Day celebrators are also happier than those who don’t plan to celebrate.

 

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