UK shoppers set to spend £653m on Father’s Day but fashion boost is limited

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 13, 2019

Two new surveys show that Father’s Day this weekend will see a major spend in the UK but whether the fashion and beauty sectors will get as big a boost as they do for Mother’s day is unclear.

Sainsbury’s-owned retailer Argos said Britons spend £56 per head on average celebrating the day (ie not only gift spending), which is more than is spent for Mother’s day (£51). But consumers take just four minutes on average to decide on a dad gift, while they take twice as long for their mums.

On average, both mums and dads receive two gifts on their respective days, with tech and electricals proving popular for dads, compared to jewellery and ornaments for mums. 

While traditional Father’s day gifts tended to give a big boost to fashion and beauty years ago (as accessories, socks, ties and fragrances were favourites), today’s wishlist items are more likely to be drones, fitness equipment and coffee machines.

Argos said the average amount spent on each Father’s Day gift is £30 with it adding that the top five Father’s Day Gifts for 2019 are the Sky Viper Stunt Drone, Men’s Health Ab Wheel with Footstraps, 4 Burner Propane Gas BBQ with Side Burner, Sony MDR-ZX330BT On-Ear Wireless Headphones, and Citizen Black Dial Men's Stainless Steel Watch.

Rounding out the top 10 are the Tassimo by Bosch Joy Pod Coffee Machine, Garmin Vivosport Smart Activity Tracker with GPS, Wahl Stainless Steel Multigroomer, L’Oréal Barber Club Complete Care Gift Set, and Deadpool 2 DVD.

At least beauty is getting a look-in there in terms of grooming electricals and fashion has a presence via watches.

Meanwhile, GlobalData has predicted an overall Father’s Day spend of £635 million in 2019, less than half of the amount spent on Mother’s Day, although the occasion “will experience higher growth than its more popular female counterpart, with spend set to rise by 1%,” equating to £6.2 million.

All retail categories associated with Father’s Day are expected to grow this year, but cards/gift wrap is set to be the best performing category, with anticipated spend rising 1.4% on 2018. The company said that “while fewer consumers participate in this occasion, the act of giving a card is easy for consumers to do without spending too much money given the strain on disposable incomes.”

The gifting market is significantly smaller for Father’s Day, compared to Mother’s Day, but with retailers, such as Card Factory, expanding gifting ranges, particularly for these seasonal occasions, consumers now have greater access to low-value gifting ranges and these are likely to benefit from Father’s Day.

And analyst Zoe Mills said there’s an interesting approach being taken to marketing comms this year with retailers proceeding cautiously but raising awareness at the same time.

“Gifting retailers are showing more sensitivity to customers who are not partaking in the occasion,” she said. “Marks & Spencer, Superdrug and Menkind have emailed subscribers ahead of the event to ascertain if they want to receive communications promoting ranges. 

“Retailers are acting sensitively to ensure their customers are not receiving unwanted communication but this has also resulted in consumers being more aware of the event ahead of time. This is a relatively new retail trend, but many retailers have already applied greater sensitivity around occasions and we expect to see more following suit in future, especially around events such as Valentine’s Day, which can be a sore spot for those without a significant other.”