Father’s Day gift-buying may become the next frontier in the ”battle of the sexes,” as female shoppers prepare to prove that what men can do, women can do twice as well.

According to a recent National Retail Federation (NRF) survey, female shoppers plan to outspend their male counterparts by more than 50% on Father’s Day gifts this year. Female shoppers plan to spend an average of $71 while male shoppers plan to spend only $33.00. Overall, consumers said they planned to spend an average of $52.30 on Father’s Day gifts this year, compared to $62 for Mother’s Day.

The consumer survey of 1,000 respondents, conducted for NRF by MarketFacts, Inc., shows that female shoppers also think they know best when it comes to finding the right Father’s Day gift. Female shoppers were significantly more likely to think that the gift they are planning to buy for Dad was something he both needs and wants (21.5% of female versus 11.8% of male shoppers). However, 40.1% of total shoppers said they thought the gift they are planning to buy for Father’s Day this year was something Dad wants, but would not buy for himself.

While most shoppers (81.9%) are planning to buy greeting cards for Dad, 40.5% of shoppers will stick to clothing stand-bys, such as shirts and ties. Other popular Father’s Day gifts this year include dinner or brunch (38.3%), sporting goods or leisure items (37.7%), books or CDs (25.5%), home improvement or gardening tools (22.1%), and consumer electronics or computer accessories (12.8%).

Father’s Day is also becoming a day to pay tribute to the various “father figures” in consumers’ lives. A majority of Father’s Day shoppers (56%) said they planned to buy gifts for other male relatives or a family friend this year.

NRF is a Washington, D.C.-based retail trade association.

JCK