The changing face of Father’s Day

Father’s Day used to be about socks and jocks, but the mood and sentiment is definitely changing. While within retail more money is spent on Mother’s Day, the wave of recognition for fathers is definitely growing, as the modern day father is increasingly involved in his children’s lives. Instead of racing off to work last Friday morning, more fathers across our wide brown land were attending Father’s Day breakfasts at their kid’s school than they were last year, and certainly more than the year before that.

This quality time is finding its way into new shopping experiences. Bunnings now holds Father’s Day family night which creates a whole new shopping experience for the family: a retail event where the kids can come in and DIY a gift for dad.

Cheesy or in touch? Well, when we polled all the fathers in our office, the most cherished gift is still the one the kids have made. Is there room for Bunnings or the local hardware store to better market the DIY to the younger generation?

Searching for that special gift for Dad online is getting easier too. Lasoo, the online catalogue has a purely Father’s Day gift search function, while Officeworks gift finder qualifies the type of Dad in your family: techy, arty or business? It’s then as simple as setting the price range for a display of products to appear. This provides a fun, interactive search function for Mum and the kids.

Why Mum? Oh come on now, my kids are wonderful but they just don’t have the funds, mobility or dedication to the cause to complete the drive, choose, buy, wrap, and then “gift give” process.

Mums for the most part are still shopping where they feel most comfortable. Big W, Target, Kmart, David Jones and Myer being the usual suspects. Promotions such as a free coffee grinder when you purchase a coffee machine are supporting this comfort zone, sweetening the offer for the shopper – which in most cases is still Mum. In recognition, David Jones offers bonus points on Dad gadgets with the benefit of the points actually going back to Mum. The Borders Father’s Day offer utilises the same formula: buy two books for Dad and get one free for you.

Some of the most appealing retail promotions on offer are holidays. A quick getaway perhaps to Chateau Yerong Station, thanks to your purchase of books at Angus and Robertson? Yes please.

Let’s face it, nothing like mentioning the word Chateau to a woman, conjuring up images of a romantic weekend away.

So while spending on Dad gets bigger every year, if Mum buys right she is actually the beneficiary. Just don’t tell Dad.

In his role as CEO of CROSSMARK, Kevin Moore looks at the world of retailing from grocery to pharmacy, bottle shops to car dealers, corner store to department stores. In this insightful blog, Kevin covers retail news, ideas, companies and emerging opportunities in Australia, NZ, the US and Europe. His international career in sales and marketing has seen him responsible for business in over 40 countries, which has earned him grey hair and a wealth of expertise in international retailers and brands. CROSSMARK Asia Pacific is Australasia’s largest provider of retail marketing services, consulting to and servicing some of Australasia’s biggest retailers and manufacturers.