Australians to spend less on Father’s Day amidst cost-of-living crunch

This Father’s Day, Australians will spend $820 million on their dads, with alcohol and food (34%), clothing, shoes, and sleepwear (15%) and books, games, and music (15%) the top three gift categories of choice. More than 8 million shoppers nationwide are planning to buy gifts for the dads in their life, spending around $101 each compared to last year’s $112 spend (down 10%).

While retailers welcome the seasonal boost, overall Australians are spending less than last year’s figure of $850 million – a dip of $30 million or 3.5%.

Australian Retailers Association (ARA) CEO Paul Zahra said Father’s Day remains a popular celebration of the father-figures in our lives.

“We predict a dip in spending habits this year, with many households continuing to feel the cost-of-living crunch, but Father’s Day remains a seasonal highlight for Aussie retailers and this year will be no exception. The spending dip is concerning given we have seen significant population growth across the past year, and it speaks to continued tough times for many retailers despite the seasonal pockets of positivity.

Around 800,000 Australians, or 10% of those planning to buy a gift, have been stocking up on gifts early – purchasing their Father’s Day presents in advance to take advantage of the mid-year/end of financial year sales. These early-bird buyers have already spent $75 million on gifts, with 53% stocking up on discounted items.

Mr Zahra said retailers in these categories will still enjoy a welcome boost in the lead-up to Father’s Day.

“This is the perfect opportunity for traders to promote Father’s Day-inspired gifts, and to make it easy as possible for shoppers to find the perfect present.

“We know that households are doing it tough right now, so retailers need to focus on delivering value to entice shoppers over the Father’s Day period,” said Mr Zahra.

Father’s Day takes place on Sunday 1 September 2024.

The ARA-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australian-wide cross-section of 3,243 Australians aged 18+ on Friday July 19 - Thursday July 25, 2024.

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About the Australian Retailers Association (ARA)

The Australian Retailers Association is the oldest, largest and most diverse national retail body, representing a $430 billion sector employing 1.3 million Australians and the largest private sector employer in the country. As Australia’s peak retail body, representing more than 120,000 retail shops and online stores, the ARA informs, advocates, educates, protects and unifies our independent, national and international retail community. To learn more about ARA’s exclusive member benefits and more, visit retail.org.au

About Roy Morgan

Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers. To learn more visit www.roymorgan.com.