June 21 is set to represent a key event in the affiliate marketer’s calendar as Father’s Day returns for another year, bringing with it a welcomed rise in gift budgets.

According to new data from Rakuten Marketing, this year’s annual celebration of fatherhood will see shoppers spending an average of £69.30 on their dads. This is a 5% lift on last year and puts the average order value £6.38 above that of Mother’s Day.

Thus, with a potential goldmine in sight, Rakuten Marketing’s other revelations about peak selling periods and where shoppers are likely to head for a good, affiliate-assisted deal should be worth noting.

Incentives are key

The findings suggest that comparison sites will be the best-performing publishers over this week as shoppers look to pit stores against each other in search of a good deal. Of the sales driven by affiliates, these groups will contribute 21% of transactions, with voucher and cashback sites chipping in with 20%.

‘Other’ publishers, including bloggers, have been tipped to drive 14% of all affiliate sales, with ‘loyalty’ and ‘reward’ publishers accounting for 13%.

While advocating the use of incentives, Rakuten Marketing said the sheer range of publishers being used stresses the need for retailers to explore a variety of affiliate types over this week.

Dressed to impress

In terms of where the sales are likely to fall, there is a clear trend in children wanting to make their fathers look the part.

Apparel, beauty and footwear products were all cited in the top five for popular product categories, in addition to luxury items and regular gifts.

Menswear in general is expected to be high on people’s shopping lists if recent trends are to be observed. Rakuten Marketing has seen an 18% rise in sales of garments over the last five years and is backing Sunday to be another opportunity where brands can “win big”.

Their own devices

Peak sales times are to vary according to device; a late-night spree being par for the course for desktop buyers, with clicks on mobile devices spiking over the lunchtime.

A solid desktop strategy will be crucial to Father’s Day success, as highlighted by 68% of affiliate clicks coming from these devices last year. Tablet only accounted for 15%, but its 22% share of total spend indicates a strong conversion rate.

Smartphones had the opposite effect last year – driving 17% of clicks but only 9% of sales. However, with numerous studies pointing to mobile devices being used early in the purchase journey before desktops take over, this may have been expected.

The data is based on Rakuten Marketing’s survey of its own affiliate network of 400 online retailers and over 300,000 publishers. Some of the other Father’s Day findings, including key sales periods, are displayed in the infographic found here.