• by Sarah Mahoney , June 11, 2026

In many ways, Father’s Day -- always a bit of a retail afterthought, compared to mom's day -- will look the same as it always does this year. The National Retail Federation reports about 77% of the consumers it surveyed intend to celebrate Dad in some way, in line with previous years. And while it expects spending to hit a record $27.9 billion, that’s likely due to inflation rather than devotion. For context, the NRF forecast $38 billion on Mother's Day this year, nearly $10 billion more than Dad's record haul.

But the research did detect some shifts, with more people looking to give a gift like a wearable tech item or shaving-related products. “While nearly every gift category is seeing an increase in planned spending this year, electronics and personal-care items have the largest gains,” noted Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy for Prosper Insights & Analytics, which conducted the research for NRF. “These items reflect consumers’ focus on giving Dad practical and popular gifts, especially products that help make his life easier,” his statement continued.

That said, the old standbys are still the most popular, with 60% of celebrants looking to buy a greeting card, 58% some article of clothing, 55% a special outing, such as a restaurant meal or ticket to an event, and --  most practical of all -- a gift card, named by 52%.

The NRF predicts average spending will rise to $226.58 per celebrant, up from the previous record of $199.38 in 2025. And that might include multiple gifts, with many people planning to give presents to husbands, sons, brothers, friends and grandfathers, according to a survey of more than 7,900 adults.

A separate poll by Numerator tells a somewhat different story, including a participation rate of just 63% and average spending of $113. But some of the same trends show up. Nearly all (90%) of Father’s Day celebrants plan to purchase something for the holiday, with food on top of the list at 68%, gifts at 29%, and alcoholic beverages at 28%. Of those, 71% will buy beer, 43% spirits and 35% wine.

And budgets are on their minds, with 42% of Father’s Day shoppers saying they think rising prices will have a moderate or significant impact on their spending.

One difference: In the NRF’s study, online shopping is the most popular, with 38% clicking for their gifts, closely followed by department stores at 37%. Numerator, which surveyed 5,600 consumers, finds that only 17% of its sample will shop all or mostly online, with 58% expecting to do most of their buying in stores.