For Every Type of Dad, There’s a Father’s Day Product and Strategy to Match

This Father’s Day, Rakuten Marketing wants consumers and brands to better understand what Dad really wants when it comes to Father’s Day gifts. Analyzing our internal product data, we realized one of the largest peaks for a product year-over-year (YOY) was meat to grill. Every year in the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, our affiliate data sees an impressive spike around the sale of meat! Taking a closer look at the other product popularity during this time, we’ve created fun, cheeky experiences for a few different types of dads.

The Boujee Dad

If a dad likes to live a bit more on the “boujee” side of life, there are many popular product trends to help consumers ensure their boujee dad is satisfied – aren’t sure what “boujee” means? This term is derived from the French word “bourgeoisie,” and is a term used to describe someone who lives a luxurious lifestyle in humble character.

This dad, with his refined taste of the finer things in life, probably leans towards grilling a Wagyu steak for his Father’s Day. He also may like to pair his steak with a nice wine such as a spicy Red Zinfandel or full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, Rakuten Marketing saw wine sales increase during the weeks leading up to Father’s Day. Furthermore, the rate that wine sales are growing YOY for Father’s Day is actually outpacing the sales of wine leading up to Mother’s Day! Wine sales aren’t quite as high as Mother’s Day, but our data does reveal that dads are likely becoming just as big of wine connoisseurs as moms.

Another popular gift for the boujee dad is the gift of looking and feeling fresh. Our data recognized a peak in electric toothbrushes and cordless hair clipper sets! What better way to make a boujee dad happy than making sure he’s looking his best as he cooks his Wagyu beef.

The “Meat and Potatoes” Dad

So many dads love a simple meat and potatoes meal and enjoy something more along the lines of a New York Strip steak paired with a Crown and Coke. For this kind of dad, a nice sauce could be a great addition to make his steak that much more enjoyable. Rakuten Marketing data reveals the top sauce sold during Father’s Day is Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Sauce. This sauce is a little on the sweeter side, and if this dad is watching his sugar intake, the data also revealed that G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce is the third most popular sauce sold during Father’s Day.

This dad will also love receiving a gift that keeps his face looking clean and simple; our data saw Harry’s Men’s Razor as a top shaving product. After consuming his New York Strip steak, a fun family board game is a great way to spend quality, yet low-cost, time together. The number one selling item for Father’s Day last year was Monopoly: Fortnite. The other top board games sold were Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride.

The Outdoorsy Dad

All dads love to get away from the day-to-day stressors of life. Many get away from this stress by getting outdoors in the fresh, cool air. This dad might enjoy heading out to the campground for their Father’s Day, possibly cooking up a Ribeye with a freshly cracked beer in hand. For dads like this, the gift possibilities are endless! When it comes to grilling, there are plenty of camping grills to choose from that can make a great gift for the outdoorsy dad. Yet, there are still more gift opportunities for these dads.

In 2018, our data saw an increase in sales around gifting dad an outdoors experience. Among the top selling tents, there were 10-14 person, 3-4 bedroom tents bought during the weeks leading up to Father’s Day. The importance of spending time in close proximity with family is clearly important to dads as about 80,000 tents were purchased during this holiday period. If a tent isn’t really in the cards for purchase, we also saw over 6,000 camping chairs sold! Another interesting sale our data revealed that could fit the outdoorsy dad is a hammock! Over 25,000 hammocks were sold in 2018 for Father’s Day.

Other Dad Gift Trends

• If dads are into smokin’ their steak of choice rather than grilling, the preferred wood seems to be Mesquite, followed by Maple and Pecan wood chips.
• Make sure dads are careful when prepping and grilling! However, in case of emergencies, purchasing burn ointment and first aid kits for cuts and burns are both great ideas to go along with any kind of grilling themed gift…also makes for a goofy, dad-like joke.
• Dads can always use a pick-me-up in the morning. Coffee and coffee makers were both products that saw an increase in sales during the weeks leading up to Father’s Day.

Experiences are the heart and soul of living! And when it comes to celebrating holidays such as Father’s Day, brands should constantly evaluate their data to better understand how consumers are shopping. Data should be used to make advertising feel more genuine and empathetic for consumers. As marketers adjust their strategies for Father’s Day, whether it be affiliate efforts such as upping budget for content publishers to create Father’s Day gift guides, more investment in display products to find new audiences, or an increase in paid search strategies, brands need to keep positive consumer experiences as the heart and soul of marketing. Creating this alignment will only increase online consumer sentiment and overall online performance for brands.