Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
GlobalData has forecast that Father’s Day spend by UK shoppers reached £635 million this year – less than half of the amount spent on Mother’s Day.
The data and analytics company expected all retail categories associated with Father’s Day to grow and predicted that cards and gift wrap would be the best performer, with anticipated spend rising 1.4% on 2018.
GlobalData said: ‘While fewer consumers participate in this occasion compared with the female counterpart, the act of giving a card is easy for consumers to do without spending too much money, given the strain on disposable incomes.’
Zoe Mills, retail analyst at GlobalData, commented: “With the seasonal events calendar relatively clear compared with earlier this year (with Mother’s Day falling close to Easter and World Book Day), retailers have focused promotional displays on Father’s Day, giving customers more opportunity to shop.’
“Marks & Spencer, Superdrug and Menkind 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 the future, especially around events such as Valentine’s Day which can be a sore spot for those without a significant other.”
