Three-quarters of Americans are expected to celebrate the father figures in their lives on Father’s Day on Sunday 19 June this year with a whopping $20.1 billion spend estimated. That’s significantly up on 2021’s $17 billion spend, according to the National Retail Federation which surveys consumers annually on their Father’s Day spending plans.
Half of consumers expect to buy gifts for their own dad, a quarter (26%) for their husband and 1 in 10 (11%) for their son.
And, with life the most normal it’s been in the past two years, Americans are looking to spend big, with an average $174 spend, up $26 on last year and the highest in the history of the survey.
But what should consumers look to buy? It’s a perennial question. In the NRF survey around half (47%) of the rise in spending comes from increased planned spend on special outings, clothing and consumer electronics.
Nearly half (49%) of US shoppers expect to buy clothing, and 28% personal care. But 45% are looking to take the easy way out and buy gift cards, showing that when it comes to buying for the men in their lives they’d rather leave the decision-making up to them. They either haven’t a clue or simply don’t want to risk getting it wrong.
While we aren’t knocking gift cards the essence of gift-buying is about surprising someone with something they will love. And that means having confidence in what you are buying.
The million dollar question though, is what to buy? For example, if you are one of the shoppers opting for clothing is he a suit and tie kind of guy, or a sweats and pants lounger?
Real-time social proof messaging can help to inspire and guide shoppers to presents that the men in their lives will love. Since it’s based on real-time buying behaviour it can highlight bestsellers and popular and trending items that can help prompt ideas for those who aren’t sure what to buy.
For those retailers that incorporate social proof with aggregated review messaging, which Taggstar offers in partnership with Bazaarvoice, then customers also have a clearer idea of what other customers thought of such products, increasing their confidence to ultimately purchase.
Social proof messaging also helps your shoppers to bag products before they sell out and works across various products and brands, whatever the price point. For example, menswear retailer Charles Tyrwhitt trialled social proof messaging from Taggstar in 2021. The trial included Popularity, Trending and Urgency message types which delivered a 1.8% conversion rate uplift and proved that even for a higher price point shoppers appreciated the extra help.
Isn’t it time that you looked at how you can make gift-buying easier for your customers this Father’s Day?
