If you're having trouble figuring out what to get your father this year, you could always consider sitting with him quietly in a dark room. Or in a restaurant.
The average person will spend about $126 on Father's Day this year, up from $116 last year, according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation. That comes out to a record $14.3 billion nationwide.
Apparently, a popular purchase is movie tickets. Credit card spending on those items the week of Father's Day saw a bigger boost last year than any other category, according to data from Cardlytics, which tracks spending on one out of every four credit cards in the country. That weekend was the fourth-highest grossing box office weekend of 2015, and was also among the best performing the two years before.
According to Cardlytics, last year consumers spent about 7 percent more in the six weeks leading up to Father's Day than they did in a normal week, and about 80 percent more on movies during the week of Father's Day. Restaurants also pulled out ahead with a 12 percent increase, making more money above average overall in those weeks than any other spending category.
Watches and sporting goods also saw a boost the week of Father's Day, while golf-related gifts tended to be bought a few weeks in advance. Overall, Father's Day gifts tend to be purchased a few weeks before the holiday; Mother's Day gifts are more likely to be bought at the last minute (there are always flowers).