NORWALK (PRNewswire) – Summer is almost here, and that means it’s nearly time for Father’s Day. With that in mind, the father fans at Shoppers Advantage have cobbled together a list of the coolest gadgets for Dad — and some great gift ideas for the recent grads on your list.
“Everybody knows that the key to Dad’s heart — or at least the best gift for his special day — is a gadget that brings out the guy in him,” said Michael Lombardo, director of Shoppers Advantage. “The hottest trends are sporting goods, electronics, tools and more.”
Total Father’s Day spending, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation, will increase to $9 billion this year from $8.2 billion in 2005. On average, Americans will spend $88.88 on good old Dad. The survey found that more than 69 percent would buy cards for their fathers — and other popular gifts include special meals or outings, clothing, gift certificates, books or CDs, electronics or computer accessories, tools or appliances and sporting goods or leisure items. Dad doesn’t outdo Mom, however, when it comes to special days — consumers spent $122.16 on average for Mother’s Day this year.
To get the pulse on Father’s Day 2006 and to gauge what we think about our dads, Shoppers Advantage tuned into what kids are saying. According to a recent PBS Zoom TV survey, when asked to compare their Dad to a famous Dad, Homer Simpson was tops with boys, and Mike Brady was tops with girls. Respondents also said if they were Dad, they would most like to receive a homemade gift, followed by a night of peace and quiet and a night out on the town. In terms of names, 79 percent call their father figure “Dad” or “Daddy,” only one percent said “Father” and three percent use Dad’s first name.
So with a tip of the hat to Dear Dad, here are the coolest gift ideas:
1. Sporting Goods & Outdoor Equipment ... help Dad be sporty with these great sports brands: -- Golf Equipment ... complete sets starting at $99 from Knight Golf, Taylor Made, and Dunlop. -- Bikes from Schwinn & Mongoose. -- Camping gear and cooking on the road and at home with products from Coleman, Weber, Bushnell and Texsport. 2. Electronics ... give him the best in electronic gadgets: -- TVs ... Dad would love a new flat panel LCD or Plasma from Toshiba, Sony, Samsung or Sharp. -- Audio ... on the go with MP3 players -- or build-out a killer system for that high-tech TV -- with brands including Apple, XM Satellite, Bose, JVC, Panasonic, Sony and Onkyo. Also consider a full line of iPod accessories from Bose and JBL. -- GPS ... Make sure Dad finds his way home with Garmin, Magellan, Sony or TomTom. -- Digital cameras and camcorders from Canon, Hewlett Packard, Panasonic, Sony, Fuji and JVC.
3. Other cool stuff ... give the man in the house something to saw about: -- Cordless drill and tool sets from Buffalo Tools and Skil. -- Portable room air conditioners to beat the heat. -- Screen houses and shades for backyard and patio relaxation. For the recent grads on your list, consider: 1. Laptop prices keep on dropping ... so send them off in style with the latest technology from Toshiba, Sony and HP. 2. Outfit your grad with all the latest computer accessories ... printers, flat panel monitors, speakers. 3. A new iPod or cool i-Accessories like an iHome or JBL docking station. 4. Portable DVD players from Audiovox and Coby. 5. Electronic games like XBox and Sony Playstation. 6. MP3 Players & iPod. 7. Stereo equipment for the car or dorm from Bose, JVC, Panasonic, Sony or Onkyo.
Editors note:
Check out http://gantnews.com/news/53/ for the gantnews.com business directory of local businesses to shop for Father's Day.