Sons and daughters say thanks to dad every June by showering him with love, affection and, of course, gifts. The weeks leading up to Father’s Day are spent searching for the perfect tie, power tool or “World’s Best Dad” coffee mug. Using Compete's panel of 2 million consumers and the results of our Spring 2011 Online Shopper Intelligence study, we're able to shed some light on consumer spending this Father’s Day and what e-retailers can do to best reach these shoppers.
Fifty-four percent of consumers plan to buy a Father’s Day gift this year. In total, they plan to spend an average of $70. Women are more likely to shower dad with love, with 66 percent of female respondents planning to buy a Father’s Day gift vs. 33 percent of men. Sons and daughters aren't the only ones buying gifts: 78 percent of consumers said they will buy a gift for their father/stepfather/father-in-law, 29 percent will buy a gift for their husband/partner and 5 percent will buy a gift for their son/stepson/son-in-law.
E-commerce will play an important role this Father's Day, with 34 percent of shoppers planning to buy their Father’s Day gifts online. While some of these shoppers know exactly what they will buy dad, many don't and will shop around online for the perfect gift. E-retailers need to effectively target these shoppers.
Online retailers captured only 6 percent of all Father’s Day-related searches last year (searches in which the search term used included "Father’s Day"). That means retailers potentially left millions of gift-seeking consumers out in cyber space! Investing more resources in Father’s Day-related terms could help you engage and convert more shoppers this time around.
Of the online retailers who did attract Father’s Day searchers last year, personalized gift retailers came out on top — what better way to tell dad you love him than with a personalized coffee mug! In fact, personalized gift retailers accounted for six out of the top 10 retailers receiving Father’s Day search traffic. Interestingly, the only mass merchant among the top e-retailers was Amazon.com.
Leading e-retailers should take a cue from Amazon and find ways to better reach gift seekers. To help shoppers last year, Amazon created a specialized Father’s Day landing page. It provided gift ideas for different kinds of dads, including camping and backpacking equipment for the “Outdoorsy Dad”; televisions for the “Relaxed Dad”; and men’s shoes and watches for the “Best-Dressed Dad.” The Father's Day landing page on Amazon received over 400,000 visits.
Designing a Father’s Day landing page filled with different gift ideas is a great way to help consumers find gifts. It's also a great way to find consumers. Hopefully this year you'll be more prepared for online gift seekers by optimizing your search strategies and website to attract these shoppers.
Debra Miller Arbesman is senior associate, retailer and consumer products at Compete, a Kantar Media company that helps brands improve their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers.
- Companies:
- Amazon.com