Father's Day Brings Gifts for Most Dads

Stevens, PA  June 1, 2004 —  A majority of Americans (55 percent) celebrate Father’s Day with a gift, according to new research about gift giving from Unity Marketing. Father’s Day is the fourth most important gift holiday, after Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. The typical gift-giver spends $80 on Father’s Day, based on a survey among 950 ‘serious’ gift-givers who spent over $250 throughout the year on gifts.

 “While holidays represent predictable sales opportunities, the day-in-day-out gifting occasions, i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, hostess presents, etc.,  throughout the year represent about half of gifters’ total gift budget,” said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need.  “Every time a shopper crosses the retail threshold, it represents a sales opportunity for a gift along with other purchases.  Savvy retailers maximize each gifting opportunity.”

Retailers’ Gifting Strategy Hinges on Guided Discovery

An understanding of how gift buyers select gifts can help retailers  prepare questions and probes for their salespeople to use to help their customers ‘discover’ the best gift choice.  The key decision points in the gifting process include:

2)      What would I like to give them?  The personality and gifting orientation of the person selecting the gift is another important factor in the gifting equation. A practically-oriented person is much more likely to favor a useful gift, while a more self-indulgent person is likely to turn to a primarily emotionally-satisfying gift. While my father would have been thrilled if I gave him a tool for Father’s Day, that’s just not my kind of gift. I connected with my father through books, so I shopped at the bookstore, rather than the hardware store.

3)       What occasion is the gift for?  Father’s Day calls for gifts that spark a man’s fancy, so go for gifts that entertain (e.g. DVDs, CDs, books, games); have shiny knobs and technological ‘whistles’ (e.g. Plasma TVs, computers and accessories, digital cameras, etc.); connect with the outdoors (e.g. gas grills, sporting equipment, golf accessories, binoculars); give father ‘bragging’ rights (e.g. family photo for his desk, executive puzzler, desk accessories, plaques, family scrapbook for his credenza). 

4)       How much is my budget?  The gift budget is an important decision point and shoppers spend more for close and intimate relations. Gift budgets are fluid, however, and are established as a range.  Retailers should try to understand the low and high-ends of the range, then present consumers alternatives from good-better-best choices.  Most often, shoppers will opt for the best value, not the lowest price. 

Unity Marketing’s new study, Gifting Report: The Who, What, Where, How Much and Why of Gift Giving & Shopping, presents an experiential research perspective of the gifting market. Combining qualitative and quantitative research, it reveals gift giving incidence and spending throughout the year, including seven major gifting holidays and 12 gifting occasions (e.g. birthdays, anniversary, wedding, friendship, etc.). The key attributes of a good gift are presented, as are the types of stores gifters prefer and why. How people choose across the range of gifting options is explored, including gift certificates and cash, home furnishings, entertainment, apparel, gifts of experience, etc. Finally the personalities of three types of gift givers with different gift giving and buying motivations are explored.

Contacts:

For more information, contact Pam Danziger, 717-336-1600; pam@unitymarketingonline.com 

To arrange an interview or other media inquiries, contact Len Stein, Visibility, 914-712-2610; lens@visibilitypr.com