‘Tis the season to celebrate the fathers in our lives. According to NRF’s Father’s Day survey conducted by BIGinsight, over three-quarters of U.S. consumers plan to observe the occasion in some way this year, and 28.4% plan to shop online for at least one of their Father’s Day gifts, up from 22.1% last year. Here are some of the key takeaways from this year’s survey.
One quarter of online shoppers expect to spend more on Dad this year. Of online Father’s Day shoppers this year, two-thirds (68.7%) anticipate buying gifts for a father or stepfather, and three out of ten will buy for their husband. This group is also more likely to spend more on Father’s Day this year than last – 26.8% of online shoppers plan to spend more, compared to 18% of all consumers observing Father’s Day.
Special outings, gift cards – and, yes, clothing, top shopping lists. Will Dad get something other than ties this year? Absolutely – greeting cards and clothing are still popular choices, but over half of online shoppers plan to treat Dad to a special outing such as dinner or brunch, and about half will be looking for gift cards so Dad can treat himself as well. Two out of five online Father’s Day shoppers are in the market for consumer electronics and computer related accessories as gifts – versus just one in five of all consumers.
Smartphone and tablet shopping continues to rise. Not surprisingly, these online shoppers will buy not only online, but also head to department stores and specialty stores for their gifts, pointing again to the importance of cross-channel marketing and truly seamless cross-channel experience that the customer increasingly expects. Of online Father’s Day shoppers who own a smartphone, more than two out of five will use the device to research products and compare products – and you know that will happen as much on the go as right in the store. And as for online Father’s Day shoppers who own a tablet device, well over half will use it to research products and compare prices. As tablet devices start to flex their sales muscle, two out of five online shoppers who own a tablet will actually purchase via this device, and one in four expect to use a tablet app to research or purchase for the occasion.
The seamless cross-channel shopping experience is now a must. As the 2012 State of Retailing Online Mobile Marketing study recently found, retailers are finding that, on average, 20% of emails opened in a campaign now are opened on a mobile device. The key? Any call to action in that email needs to lead to a mobile-optimized (or mobile friendly) page or site in order for the consumer to take that action in the first place. Retailers should test on as many platforms as possible to understand the variety of renderings that a consumer may see of both the email and the content beyond.
One third of online Father’s Day shoppers will use their smartphone to find your store in the first place – so retailers should make sure that all their store location information is up to date and correct. If store maps are available, make sure those are accessible and then get the message out about them also – a great customer service move that time-starved customers will value.