Back to Previous

Retail set to spike with Father’s day

Nick Hall

Father’s Day shopping is likely to drive a 9 per cent increase in retail spend in the week leading up to the event, according to data from retail software firm Vend.

The firm analysed retail spending and sales trends from the corresponding weeks during 2016 and 2017 in order to provide Australian businesses with a firm idea of what to expect for the upcoming holiday.

“Retailers probably won’t see their best-ever sales results for Father’s Day this year. That’s not quite the retail environment we’re in right now,” Vend country manager for Australia Dave Scheine said.

“But we can see that Father’s Day consistently brings a decent lift for the majority of our retailers, and we expect that lift to happen again – especially for food and drink, and sports and outdoor stores.”

The Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman told Inside Retail he believes an 8 to 9 per cent increase is realistic but stressed that Father’s Day sales have softened year over year for some time.

“Father’s Day is the least important of all the celebrations… it’s not a big one for retail, but it does lead to an increase in sales,” Zimmerman said, noting that the difficult retail conditions are unlikely to make a difference.

“The people who celebrate things like Father’s Day and events like that are going to make sure they celebrate it irrespective. What may or may not be the problem is that they may not spend as much money as they have in the past, and that 8 to 9 per cent is probably a bit softer than what we’ve seen in years gone by.”

According to the data put forward, food and beverage stores are likely to see the largest bump in sales with a 17 per cent increase, while sports and outdoor retailers are slated to see a 10 per cent rise.

Vend noted that discounting levels tend to be higher in the lead-up to Father’s Day, with an expected discount rate of 8 per cent higher than an average week, as retailers attempt to capitalise on the increase foot traffic.

This article first appeared in Inside Retail, a sibling publication to Inside Franchise Business.