Father's Day Marketing: 5 Tips for Promoting Your Online Shop

Father’s Day is once again just around the corner! Whether you're a dad yourself or not, Father's Day marketing opportunities shouldn't be ignored if you run an e-commerce business.

In 2024, Father's Day falls on Sunday, June 16th in the UK, US, and South Africa, but the date varies in different countries (more on the different dates below).

If you're reading this, it probably means that it’s time to start thinking about promotions and sales for Father's Day. In today’s blog, we'll have a look at what small and medium-sized businesses can do to boost their sales for dads' big day.

Father's Day in Europe

As mentioned, Father's Day is not the same across Europe (or the world for that matter). If you're a Father's Day shopper, you only care about the date in the country where your dad lives.

However, as a shop owner, you should consider when the holiday takes place in all of your main markets.

Here is an overview of the biggest markets in western Europe:

This is a good chance to let you know about the European Holidays Marketing Calendar we've created for exactly this reason. Learn about the different holidays across Europe's biggest markets by downloading the PDF now:

Father's Day in the UK

According to Statista, Britons spend a lot of money on Father's Day! That number had been slowly inching towards £1 billion mark for the last few years!

The numbers took an understandable downturn in 2020 with the coronavirus, but shot right back up in 2021 to an impressive £951 million. 2022 saw numbers hit nearly £1 billion. 2024 should see us get even closer to that number.

Source: Statista

So, what's the obvious conclusion? Britons clearly love their dads! If nearly £1 billion annual retail spend is not reason enough for you to realise the potential of Father's Day, then I don't know what is!

Here's another interesting number from the UK:

According to creategiftlove.co.uk, a survey of 1,000 UK respondents revealed that 78.22% of shoppers struggle to come up with gift ideas for their dads and father figures for the holiday. (Hint: check out tip #3 below)

Father's Day in Italy

Father's Day is not just popular in the US and the UK. Fathers are celebrated across Europe! Here is a look at what Italians who intended to buy a present for Father's Day were planning to spend. Father's Day is obviously relevant to people with all kinds of budgets:

Source: Statista

Father's Day in the Netherlands

If we take a look at the most popular Father's Day gifts in the Netherlands, we see some of the typical dad gifts as well (e.g. food, gardening, books, etc.)... Some things never change, but it does confirm the fact that Father's Day marketing opportunities exist for many industries (in many markets).

Source: Statista

Father's Day in France

French consumers were asked about where they shop for Father's Day (and Mother's Day).

While many consumers still go the old-fashioned route, the numbers show that online shopping is slowly becoming the number one option:

Source: Statista

Father's Day in Germany

Vatertag translates to Father's Day. However, in Germany, the holiday is also known as Männertag or Herrentag in some parts of the country, which translates into Men's Day. This obviously opens the day up to all men, not just fathers.

The day is often spent among friends since it falls on a public holiday (Ascension Day). Men tend to spend the day outside drinking beer (surprise).

It is quite common to see men using a handcart or wheelbarrow to transport all those beers, and some of these carts are designated for just one event per year. Sometimes custom carts are built to make sure the party never dies (think, built-in speakers).

Of course, carts, beer, and speakers are not the only things bought for the holiday. Not everyone gets hammered in the park. Many families still celebrate their dads with small gifts.

Father's Day in Poland

Family is very important in Polish culture. It's why everyone gets a special day there: Children's Day, Mother's Day, and each grandparent gets their own day, too!

The most important thing for Polish people is to give heartfelt thanks to their dad. A small gift is certainly customary, as well as quality time together.

If you ask the dads yourself, experiences are what really excite them on this day:

Source: Statista

Father's Day marketing tips

Now, that you know the "why", let's look at the "how" of Father's Day.

Without further ado, here are our Father's Day marketing tips:

#1 Get ready for Father’s Day ahead of time

You don't have to be a kid to appreciate your dad!
(Shutterstock/Evgeny Atamanenko)

If you’re new to running an online shop, I've got some good general advice for you: you’ll want to plan all your website’s annual sales way ahead of time.

Not only does this help you avoid all that last-minute planning and adjustments, but it gives you a chance to promote your sale early enough to catch those non-procrastinating shoppers (don’t look at me) and get them in your shop.

Besides, some people (unintentionally) rely on advertisements to remind them that the holiday is coming up. You're essentially doing a public service for many of us when you run holiday-based ads (thank you!).

Remember, shop owners have got the famous "summer slump" to deal with, so if your site is up and your marketing is ready weeks before the big day, you’ll be able to make the most of this sale, which happens to occur during a relatively slow shopping period (depending on when it is celebrated in each relevant market).

So, what can you do to prepare? Here's some fatherly advice: Plan out your strategy ahead of time.

Do you want to create a special banner at the top of your page? Who will design it? Will you advertise the sale through Facebook and/or Google? If so, will you have a special landing page where ad-clickers will be sent?

It's crucial to allocate enoughtime for the creation and implementation of these strategies, so beginning the planning process several months in advance is highly recommended.

#2 Run a Father’s Day social media contest

Offering a simple discount for Father’s Day might be enough to catch a few people’s attention. Going one step further, you might want to consider having a giveaway of the “top dad products”.

Taking it another step further, consider having a social media contest. Why? Customer Engagement – that’s why.

This can be accomplished by having customers interact with your brand in some way... and social media is the perfect tool to do just that.

You could, for example, encourage them to share their “favourite dad moment”, “dad image”, or even “dad joke” in a social media contest. Remember to think of a clever #hashtag, associate it with the campaign, and get them to use it in their posts (e.g. #mydadiscoolerthanyourdad). Also, encourage them to share the post with their own followers.

"Oh, here’s another good one: How do you make an octopus laugh? With ten-tickles."
(Shutterstock/M-Production)

With a social media contest, you’ll not only be getting them to engage more with your brand and share the contest with their friends, but you’ll also be creating an emotional connection to your brand.

Social media doesn't have to be limited to contests in order to inspire your followers to shop for dad's big day. It can be a great way of subtly reminding them of the upcoming holiday as well.

If your reviews provider lets you filter your reviews, you can share some reviews that mention "dad". Then, give your review a visual boost and share them on social media.

(Background image source: Shutterstock/Mikael Damkier)

Learn more about the Trusted Shops Social Media creator:

#3 Have a “gift guide” on your website

If I'm being totally honest, my dad has always been harder to shop for than my mom. Usually, moms are happy enough just getting some flowers, perfume, or chocolate. Dad’s can be a bit more of a challenge though (If you have a dad-equivalent to flowers and chocolate, please let me know).

Remember how we touched on creating specific landing pages for your ads in tip #1?

Well, by creating a “gift guide” on your website, you can help your customers find the perfect gift for the dad(s) in their lives. By segmenting all the different kinds of dads out there (e.g. “sports fan dad”, “handy dad”, “dad-joke dad”, etc.), you’re actually doing a great service for your shoppers (thanks again!).

Recommended reading:
How to Create a Gift Guide That Will Inspire Your Customers

Besides hobbies, don't forget that some people celebrate this big day with multiple "dads". Think of father-in-laws, grand-dads, step-fathers, son-in-laws. You might even want to make categories for those kinds of dads in our lives (more on this in the next section).

These kinds of guides can inspire people quickly, so put your best (i.e. most popular) products at the top of the page. Before you know it, they'll be browsing your product pages.

If you're confused by what you should stock up on, Statista released some survey results about what UK dads like to receive for Father's Day:

Source: Statista

Would you look at that? It seems that dads aren't so complicated to shop for after all! Apparently, dads like getting cards, drinking beer, and eating food! Go figure!

Recommended reading:
How Online Food Companies Can Proactively Instil Trust Among Customers

#4 Create “dad bundles”

Speaking of gift guides, you can also promote “dad bundles” for your Father’s Day promotion. Bundle a few products together and sell them as such.

Sure, it’s not a ground-breaking idea (it's not too far off from a cross-selling strategy), but if you highlight the shoppers' savings (i.e. Save £10 when you buy these two products together), it's a great way to promote the products while also getting rid of some surplus inventory at the same time.

Some dads love to cook (and/or bake)! Inspire your shoppers to buy him some new kitchen appliances and spend some quality time together. (Shutterstock/LightField Studios)

#5 Segment your marketing

This is another general piece of advice that works together with all the suggestions mentioned above. Since Father’s Day shoppers are not only children, you might want to try segmenting your ads for all your audiences.

For example, you can target teenagers for some ads, moms/wives for others, and even adults who are buying gifts for their (older) dads. In fact, this is a great opportunity to sell to people who aren't normally your target group.

By knowing who you’re marketing to for this particular campaign, you can customise your ads to fit these different target audiences with different images and texts. This is called micro-targeting.

It’s also worth knowing which apps these target groups use. Although Instagram and Snapchat are used more by younger audiences, Pinterest is used more by the “mom” demographic, so your targeting and messaging should match the audience that will be seeing them.

You might consider segmenting your landing pages to fit your audiences as well. Before, we mentioned that you could create landing pages based on dad-habits. Conversely, you could create landing pages based on who is shopping. Teenagers might have a smaller budget or a different gift in mind than a wife or mother-in-law, etc.

Recommended reading:
Creating a Buyer Persona to Better Understand Your Customers

Bonus Tips

Okay, you've got the promotions planned and the ads running. Traffic has increased, but you’ve noticed that despite getting a lot of new visitors, your conversions are lacking.

This could very well be a sign that your website lacks “trust” elements. You might want to consider getting a product reviews platform for your site, so that your best customers can be advocates for your shop.

Other trust elements (e.g. trustmarks) can also help boost conversions for new site visitors.

Does your shop software offer options for pop ups? An exit intent pop up can be really effective. Once it is recognised that a user is about to leave your website, the pop-up will show up offering an extra discount. By offering an extra 5% discount (or whatever you choose) and reminding them that Father's Day is coming up(!), you might be surprised by how many people will decide to complete their order after all.

Conclusion

Planning website changes and marketing campaigns is definitely a bit of effort, but getting ready for Father’s Day well in advance can pay off if you do it right. Not only is it a great way to sell products, but it’s an opportunity for you to engage with your customers and start building a relationship with them.

Remember, many holidays fall on different days in different countries. If you sell and/or run international marketing campaigns, make sure to check out our Holidays Calendar, designed to give you an overview of the biggest e-commerce opportunities in Europe's biggest markets: