By Brendan Straw, Country Manager, Shopfully Australia
When Mother’s Day rolls around, most Australians have a pretty reliable playbook: flowers, skincare, jewellery, a nice lunch. Even if you’ve left it until the last minute, you generally know where to start.
But Father’s Day is usually less straightforward. There is no Father’s Day equivalent to a bouquet. One dad wants the latest gadget, another is happiest tinkering in the shed, another is obsessed with his car, and plenty will claim they “don’t need anything”. That leaves many Australians heading into Father’s Day wanting to buy something but with little idea of what the gift should be.
For marketers, that uncertainty creates an opportunity. Unlike occasions where shoppers are guided by well-established gifting traditions, Father’s Day opens a larger window to inspire, influence and help shape the final purchase, whether that’s three weeks before the occasion or on a frantic Saturday afternoon dash to the shops.
Get In Early While Shoppers Are Still Deciding
When there is no obvious go-to gift, shoppers naturally spend more time looking for ideas.
Our 2025 research found that more than half of Australians planned to purchase their Father’s Day gift at least two to four weeks before the occasion. Importantly, they’re actively searching for inspiration during that period, with 72% browsing catalogues, 36% visiting stores and 23% searching online for ideas and recommendations.
That’s good news for brands and retailers. It creates a longer, more valuable window to engage customers before they’ve made up their minds. The challenge is that Father’s Day spans an unusually broad range of categories. Last year, clothing and accessories led gift purchases at 51%, followed by food and drinks (41%), tools and hardware (32%), electronics (27%) and personal care products and gift cards (23% each).
With shoppers considering such different gifting paths, a one-size-fits-all “Gifts for Dad” campaign is unlikely to resonate equally with everyone. That is where data-led targeting becomes particularly valuable. Marketers should start early and leverage signals such as interests, location and previous shopping behaviour to serve more relevant creative products and offers to different audiences.
Ultimately, the aim should be to remove some of the mental work from the shopper to reach the right gift for Dad. The more relevant the inspiration feels from the outset, the more likely it is to influence what eventually makes its way into the basket.
Personalisation and Practicality Wins with Dads
Last year, our research showed that one in four Australians planned to spend more on Father’s Day than they had the year before. So, what drove that willingness to spend?
In the absence of a default gift, shoppers often gravitate towards presents that feel either meaningful or useful, and ideally both. Around one in three Australians say sentiment and personalisation are important factors when choosing a Father’s Day gift, while 39% prioritise practicality and usefulness.
Whether it’s a personalised item that feels thoughtful or a practical purchase that solves a problem, consumers are looking for gifts with purpose. In a crowded retail space, helping shoppers make that connection can be far more powerful than competing on price alone.
Leave Room for the Last-Minute Shoppers
Of course, not every shopper will be this organised. Our research also found 37% of Australians planned to buy their Father’s Day gift anywhere from a few days to a week before.
At that point, the shopper’s needs start to change. Three weeks out, marketers can afford to inspire and introduce options. Three days out, consumers need the reassurance and convenience that they’d be able to purchase it in time.
That is where the connection between digital discovery and the physical store becomes particularly important. Half of Father’s Day shoppers purchased their gifts in-store last year, which means someone searching for gift ideas on Saturday morning may very well be standing in a checkout queue that same afternoon.
Retail media, digital catalogues and location-based messaging can help surface relevant products, nearby deals and local stock availability at precisely the moment shoppers are ready to act.
Click & Collect can provide another useful bridge between the two. Giving shoppers confidence that an item they discover online is available and can be collected nearby removes another layer of uncertainty, particularly when delivery is no longer an option.
Helping Shoppers Express ‘I Love You, Dad’
Dad may never have an equivalent to the Mother’s Day flower bouquet, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.
But for retailers, that is not necessarily a problem. It is an opportunity. Father’s Day is one of those rare occasions where many consumers haven’t already made up their minds before they start shopping. And when there is no obvious default, the brands that can provide the right inspiration early and the right reassurance late are the ones best placed to turn uncertainty into a purchase.
