Father’s Day Domestic Online Sales Up 14%

Content Manager

The National Retail Federation predicted that Father’s Day spending would reach $12.5 billion this year, with family members flocking to their mobile devices in search for the perfect gift for dad.

But how well did Father’s Day do?

According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark,  overall U.S. retail online sales in the week leading up to Father’s Day were up 14% compared to the same period last year.

Here are some key drivers as a result of Father’s Day spending:

  • The average order value for Mother’s Day was higher than Father’s Day.  Mother’s Day saw an average order value of $125.23, which was 5% higher than Father’s Day ( $119.37).
  • Mobile traffic accounted for more than 38% of all online traffic, up more than 26% compared to the same period last year. Mobile sales saw strong growth, up more than 37%, reaching nearly 19% of all online sales.
  • Smartphones drove 24.8% of all online traffic, nearly twice that of tablets ( 12.8%), making it the browsing device of choice. When it comes to making the sale, tablets drove 12.2% of all online sales while smartphones accounted for nearly half of that at 6.4%.  Tablet users also averaged $106.71 per order versus smartphone users, who averaged $89.55 per order.

When it came to percentage of online sales,  iOS was almost four and a half times higher than Android,  driving 15.2% versus 3.4% for Android. On average, iOS spend was $103.85 per order compared to $73.08 for Android users, a difference of 42%.  When it came to overall traffic,  iOS took the lead with 25.6% versus 12.3% for Android.

For social networks, shoppers referred from Facebook averaged $99.43 per order versus Pinterest referrals, which drove $142.75 per order. However Facebook referrals converted sales at a rate more than four times than that of Pinterest, indicating stronger confidence in network recommendations.

A few more statistics from the IBM survey:

  • For department stores, Father’s Day total online sales grew by 30.5% over the same period last year, with mobile sales growing by 29% year over year.
  • When it came to home goods,  Father’s Day total online sales grew by 21.4% over the same period last year,  with mobile sales growing by 25% year over year.
  • In apparel, Father’s Day online sales grew 13.5% over the same period last year, with mobile sales growing by more than 42% year over year.