According to the National Retail Federation’s 2013 Father’s Day survey, shoppers will spend more than ever this Father’s Day. The average gift giver will spend $119.84 on dear old dad, and total spending is expected to reach $13.3 billion. Surely you can get a piece of that
Obviously, there will be many potential Father’s Day buyers out this week. Even though you may not be a store that completely targets men, most stores can capture some incremental Father’s Day sales by simply making it a focus it this weekend.
Here are some tips and things you can do over the next few days to do just that.
1. Find out if a customer needs help finding a Father’s Day gift – or something special for him/herself. This not only assumes the person is coming in to make a purchase, it brings Father’s Day front and center. It also gets around the awkward moment when you bring up Father’s Day and the customer has lost his/her father.
Here’s the opportunity. Over 50% of consumers will be buying a gift for dad, but almost 30% will buy a gift for his/her spouse. And if they say “neither” you can follow-up with something like, “Well, after you see all the wonderful items we have I hope you change your mind.”
2. Create a special shopping event for children this weekend. The story behind the gift is just as important as the gift itself, and by creating a special event and promoting it to your customers your customer will have a wonderful story to tell, and you’ll capture some incremental Father’s Day business.
Essentially, make it a kid’s party. Serve the kids food and drinks, play some games, and have special helpers available to help the kids pick out dad’s gift. You can also have tables set up for making cards and for wrapping the gift.
3. Set up card making and giftwrap tables. If the event I just described is more than you want to do, at least have stations where kids can make their own Father’s Day card to go along with their purchases; you can also have them help wrap the gift. I saw this done at Nordstrom during Mother’s Day and thought it was a great way to make shopping for dad or mom a more memorable experience.
4. Identify and highlight your top Father’s Day products. Many stores that don’t think of themselves as a Father’s Day store in reality carry plenty of nice items that dad would like. A toy store can highlight dad’s favorite games or water guns. A boutique can feature men’s belts. Hardware stores could put the spotlight on gardening and grill tools.
5. Share the features/benefits and the story behind your products. Guys love features and benefits, and they especially like hearing what makes a product special or unique. Share the information with the buyer in such a way that she will then make sure the recipient hears it, too. “Make sure you tell him that these belts are made from the hides of cows that listened to Led Zeppelin 24-7” or “He’ll love the fact that this watch syncs up with the Zurich atomic clock every sixty seconds.”
6. Promote gift ideas via social media and/or newsletter. Post gift ideas on Facebook twice daily. Be sure and space your posts, one in the morning and the other in afternoon or evening.
7. Last but not least, always suggest a gift card for dad. It’s a great solution if the gift buyer can’t find that perfect gift, but it’s also a wonderful sell-on for a little something extra. And doesn’t dad deserve a little extra?
So let me ask, are you and your team ready to maximize Father’s Day?
