Father’s Day is fast approaching, with only a few days left to buy something to show Dad you care, come June 16th. That means Father’s Day campaigns were in full swing from mid-May until these last few days. Much like with Mother’s Day campaigns, we’ve been keeping track of what retailers are doing to boost sales ahead of the special day.

To understand digital gift-buying for dads, we analyzed the behavior of customers interacting with Father’s Day campaigns, including father-themed slideshows, carousels and banners. We included 100 million visitor sessions and 500 million pages in our research, collating behavioral data over the course of four weeks. We focused on campaigns in the apparel, technology, cosmetics and jewelry (particularly watches) fields.

Low Attractiveness on Father’s Day Campaigns

The first conclusion we drew from our analysis is that — sadly for dads — Father’s Day campaigns are less attractive to consumers that Mother’s Day promotions.

Category pages for Father’s Day products, for example, have a significantly lower reach rate than their Mother’s Day counterparts both on desktop (-71%) and mobile (-50%).

Consumers are also much less likely to click on a Father’s Day slideshow than on a Mother’s Day slideshow, judging by the 37% lower click rate. And even if they do click, they’re simply not as willing to make a purchase for their fathers as they are for their moms. In fact, the conversion rate for Father’s Day campaigns slideshows is 68% lower than its Mother’s Day equivalent.

And for retailers running Father’s Day campaigns, the reach rate for these special category pages is 96% lower than the average category page reach rate on desktop and 93% lower on mobile. Meaning, for many consumers, it’s business as usual around Father’s Day.

So how can retailers drum up more interest around these campaigns? Well, with Mother’s Day Campaigns the firm favorite among consumers, why not remind customers shopping for their moms that Father’s Day is just around the corner? You could also offer promo codes for both events jointly, so that the two celebrations can support each other, retail-wise.

Positive Impact on Conversions from Father’s Day Campaigns

But it’s not all doom and gloom. While they’re not commanding as much interest as  Mother’s Day Campaigns, Father’s Day category pages perform pretty well when it comes to conversions. Pages showcasing gifts for dads recorded an average 7.08% conversion rate on desktop — that’s 77% higher than regular category pages. And it’s the same story on mobile, with a 78% higher conversion rate for these special events pages.

Mother’s Day category pages did not perform quite as well compared to regular pages, driving 26% fewer conversions on desktop, and a mere 4% conversion increase on mobile.

There are a few things brands can do to capitalize on this high conversion potential and further optimize the conversion rate of their category pages. Implementing helpful, accurate filters will help shorten the journey to the product. Providing reassurance messaging around fast delivery and shipping options will remove further hesitation from the purchase journey. And ensuring the promo code is easy to submit at checkout adds even more value to the experience and will make your customers happy.

List Pages Cannibalizing Products Pages for a Quick Buy Effect

Desktop visitors spend 51% more time on Father’s Day category pages than on regular category pages. Mobile visitors also linger on these pages, but only 14% more than they do on regular category pages. What’s interesting though is that, despite spending more time on these pages, visitors are also more likely to choose the quick-buy option — 7% more interactions with this feature on desktop, and 10% more on mobile, versus regular category pages.

The scroll rate on Father’s Day pages is 17% lower than on Mother’s Day pages — both on mobile and desktop. And on desktop the activity rate on Father’s Day category pages is 13% lower than on their Mother’s Day counterparts.

What does this tell us? That customers are less inclined to interact with these pages and favor quick paths to purchase. A lengthy stay on these pages suggests these quick-buy options don’t always meet consumer standards.

Adding reassurance elements in the quick buy pop-up along with product and shipping info will cut out unnecessary steps for determined shoppers. Making filters highly visible and helpful will also appeal to rushed consumers as will optimizing the search bar so it displays shortcuts to your Father’s Day gift pages. And finally, simplifying the checkout and adding a guest checkout option will go a long way to converting consumers who simply don’t have the time to sign up for an account or retrieve a lost password.

Visitors Spend Less on Father’s Day Gifts

At the end of the day, we know the question on everyone’s lips: who do consumers spend more on — their dads or their moms? Painful as it may be to hear for some, our analysis of cart averages shows people are more generous when it comes to their mothers.

Father’s Day carts are lower than the average cart by 19% on desktop. The trend is reversed on mobile, but only by a mere 1.16% increase. Comparatively, the average Mother’s Day cart is 84% higher than the average cart on desktop and 63% higher on mobile.

One way to up revenue per buyer is to offer gift sets with higher price tags and a bigger value for customers. These are great ways to inspire slightly less interested customers, by suggesting bundles and gift sets they might not have thought about themselves.

Seizing the Potential of Father’s Day Campaigns

A side by side comparison reveals that, overall, Mother’s Day campaigns perform better than Father’s Day campaigns, save for a few metrics. However, fret not, as the holiday celebrating dads still comes with a wealth of potential to boost your sales. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s most exhaustive retail association, shoppers are set to spend $16 billion on Father’s Day in 2019 —an all-time high for the holiday.

With the right strategy, underpinned by continuous monitoring of customer engagement and conversions, brands can maximize the potential of their Father’s Day campaigns. The addition of slideshows and banners with Father’s Day gifts on display can be gainful for businesses —the key is to give consumers what they want, i.e. quick gifting suggestions and easy ways to complete purchases.

Father’s Day 2020 is a whole year away, giving brands plenty of time to implement a data-driven strategy that will make customer-centric optimizations child’s play.

In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, we decided to take a closer look at digital grocery sales in one of the most romantic countries in the world: France. As it turns out, the way to the hearts of the French is through fine cuisine, as romantic dinners for two both dominated in click rates and drove the highest revenue.

We analyzed how visitors behaved when browsing common Valentine’s Day products including flowers, chocolates, champagne and dinners for two.

Leading the pack, the romantic dinner category yielded a click rate of 5.7% (versus only 1.96% for flowers), suggesting many couples across France are planning to stay in on Valentine’s Day and celebrate with a home-cooked feast.

A close second was the Champagne category, which drove at 4.18% click rate. And yet despite driving more clicks than the chocolates category, bubbles generated 60% less revenue than sweet treats, suggesting lovers across the country will be skipping straight to dessert and perhaps avoiding a hangover this year.

If you’re interested in all things Valentine, check out our gifting report.

Brands today are constantly on the lookout for the perfect user experience (UX) formula that will keep their digital audience engaged all the way to conversion. But connection is a two-way street, and to be successful, requires a sophisticated understanding of who it is you’re trying to connect with.

For that, brands have personas – ideal archetypes of the people who might come to them for goods and services. And while personas are helpful, what they lack are the layers of complexity that define everyday interactions – including browsing for stuff online.

A cosmetics brand, for example, might direct its collection and messaging at a specific demographic. A typical persona might be Coachella Chloe, a 19-year-old college freshman and fashion enthusiast who never turns her phone off. Based on the variables used to define Chloe, our cosmetics brand will make a number of assumptions about the digital behavior of their target audience.

But while some things about Chloe will remain constant, many things won’t. Her behavior online, for one, is subject to any number of influences depending on where she finds herself, what device she’s using, and of course, what she’s trying to achieve.

Making Chloe a happy digital customer requires more than simply taking into account her persona. Only the combining of persona with intent and context can lead to an in-depth understanding of Chloe’s mindset – the emotional foundation that will impact her navigation.

Become a mindset reader with behavioral analytics

We analyzed millions of user sessions to better understand the digital patterns of behavior associated with different and recurring consumer mindsets.

We investigated three distinct combinations of persona, intent and context, looking at what happened when one of the variables – persona, intent, or context – was different.

To understand the impact of context on mindset, for example, we examined the difference in behavior of a converting group of users on laptop versus non-converting users on mobile. From our research, we were able to extract two distinct mindsets – distracted and determined.

We found that determined users were quick to make up their minds about the products they were drawn to, browsing fewer items and heading straight to the pages that interested them.

They were twice as likely to land on the cart page, for example, than the other group.

Distracted users were 23% more likely to land on a product page than determined users and saw these pages 22.3% more than their determined counterparts. They also displayed an 18.8% higher chance of reaching the homepage during their navigation, indicating longer, more chaotic sessions.

Distracted users on mobile were 17.6% more likely to reach the checkout than determined users on desktop, suggesting a real intention to buy. Despite this, determined users had 59% more chance of reaching the checkout confirmation page than when distracted, presumably encountering enough friction at checkout to defeat their initial purchasing objective.

Determined users also saw the cart page 82% more times during their navigation, spending 1.7 times longer there than when distracted.

Why think beyond digital personas

Putting consumer mindset at the heart of their strategy helps digital teams adapt interfaces to changing environments and fluctuating user moods. It allows them to move beyond the composite sketch of persona to address real-life situations and the feelings they trigger.

Because digital behavior and digital journeys are anything but static. Coachella Chloe, for example, will browse differently depending on whether she is determined or distracted. By developing experiences that can adapt to her changing mood, our cosmetics company is that much closer to delivering a consistently satisfying experience to its valued audience.

Q&A with Bobby Chucas, Product Manager OVO

Energy is a fast-moving industry with changing consumer expectations and intense competition. So – in a crowded landscape of energy suppliers, how can your brand outshine the competition and enhance the customer experience? According to OVO Energy Product Manager Bobby Chucas, the answer could lie in your User Experience (UX).

When it comes to data analytics, how do you think the energy sector compares to other industries like retail?

BOBBY CHUCAS: There’s been a noticeable shift over the past few years to focus on agile ways of working, testing, optimization etc., reflecting a similar change that occurred across other industries such as retail, travel, and gaming.

There have also been a number of newer entrants who have been able to gain traction in the market, based somewhat on the simplicity and quality of their UX. The difficulty here is that there’s a serious amount going on behind the scenes in an energy company, and many of these newer entrants are unable to provide basic operational services, such as installing smart meters, so there’s more to the UX equation than just digital channels. OVO is in something of a sweet spot as we have strong operational capability behind us, while also being customer focused in our development approach.

The energy industry has grown from the big six providers to over sixty in the past decade, and as in any closely contested industry, UX will continue to be a significant differentiator for companies that prioritize it appropriately.

Would you say today’s customers are more engaged with their energy supplier than in previous years?

BC: We see more than ¾ of our customers checking their account online, and that ability to give customers instant access and data is important to keep them engaged with their energy usage, and ultimately their energy supplier.

Energy is more than simply turning the lights off and on. As more people start using more energy, the way they interact with their energy supplier and suite of new services is crucial to engaging with the customer of the future. There are a range of processes and interactions that users undertake with their energy company which makes the overall value proposition more than just their unit rates. And as providers get more effective at conveying this value, they will be rewarded with increasingly loyal, engaged, and satisfied customers.

AS MORE PEOPLE START USING MORE ENERGY, THE WAY THEY INTERACT WITH THEIR ENERGY SUPPLIER AND SUITE OF NEW SERVICES IS CRUCIAL TO ENGAGING WITH THE CUSTOMER OF THE FUTURE.

How have digital channels changed the way customers interact with their supplier?

BC: Many people might not want to always ring up a call centre if they need to manage their account, and the primary focus of our digital channels is to allow users to do everything they need to do quickly and easily. This covers things like submitting meter readings, booking smart meter installations, renewing tariffs – things that were pretty onerous in the past.

In an ideal world, any interaction with your energy supplier should be quick and easy. That isn’t really possible without appropriate digital channels, and by listening to and understanding our users’ needs around available functionality, user interfaces, and support content, we can incrementally iron out any obstacles and hopefully leave our users happier.

What can energy companies do to ensure their online interfaces cater to customer needs?

BC: First things first, you’ve got to know what the customer needs are! For us, that comes from a few different areas: the explicit feedback customers provide over the phone (as well observing the common topics that customers call up about), and the in-app feedback alongside behavioral data that shows how users are engaging with our interfaces.

Secondly, you’ve got to listen to those needs. If you’re able to capture that data and access it appropriately, then you’ll be able to fairly represent the needs and frustrations of your users. Segmentation is hugely important here: the breadth and quality of data you are able to leverage about your users will define how well you can cater to more specific groups, which is often more powerful than one-size-fits-all optimization.

IN AN IDEAL WORLD, ANY INTERACTION WITH YOUR ENERGY SUPPLIER SHOULD BE QUICK AND EASY.

Thirdly, you’ve got to try to meet those needs. By clearly understanding which needle you’re trying to move and what the goal is, you’ll be able to articulate success much more credibly – particularly to stakeholders who don’t necessarily agree with an idea.

Lastly, you’ve got to make sure you’ve met the needs. Obviously A/B testing is the ideal way to do this, but there will be situations where this isn’t really feasible. For example, if we notice that the bounce rate on a certain page is high for mobile devices, and hypothesize that this is down to page speed, that’s pretty difficult to A/B test. But, there should always be a relevant metric that you can observe and understand, while being aware of the impact of seasonality, volume, external campaigns etc.

Once you feel those needs are met, rinse and repeat!