Father’s Day: more “homemade” gifts and “experiences” due to the economic crisis

Today – “Father’s Day” – the children (although the mothers are behind) start it by delivering their gifts. And while the brands relaunched their advertising – in 2022 the categories that billed the most to date were “cell phones”, “watches”, clothing”, “tools” and “drinks” – marketing and consumer experts affirm that Other trends emerge in this area: “homemade” gifts and the world of “experiences.”

On the one hand, since 2017, surveys have shown that “children” consumers want to offer their parents gifts that they themselves can “create” with their hands or produce in some way that includes “Do it yourself”.

Thus, there are studies published by the Google marketing teams that show that, in addition to the classic online search related to “Gifts, Father’s Day” Other searches associated with crafts are also growing. This trend is verified throughout Latin America. And, specifically in Argentina, search engines are growing inquiries about “Father’s Day handmade gifts” and “Father’s Day homemade gifts”, in figures ranging from 40 to 180%.

“Of course, the success of it’Homemade‘ and other forms of “Do it yourself” partly explained by the deep local economic crisis that affects the available budget. They also add certain positions associated with less consumerism, ”he commented to PROFILE Mariana Carreón, director of “other”, company dedicated a research and marketing studies on cultural transformations for various clients.

But the truth is that also see a significant change about how the new generations assume the role of paternity.

both the millennials (born in the 80s to 1995) as the Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2005) take this date very differently than Generation X (born between the 70s and 80s) and at “baby boomers(post world war).

In general, the new generations tend to look for and choose a balance between work, upbringing, and partner and look for spaces in networks to learn and develop – in community – their paternity”, summed up the consumption expert.

Clearly this current trend is -in addition- a reflection of how the women they are changing their traditional role intra-home support towards a more active one, with their economic contribution and dedication to their work and career.

New parental roles

In a framework where the parents of the new generations they are breaking paradigmsOne of the things that is growing is that they are increasingly involved in raising children and taking care of the home: from doing the daily cleaning to taking care of the purchases and other activities to resolving roles historically assumed by women.

These new trends will obviously also influence and Changing preferences and tastes of the parents And, finally, new consumption variables are recorded. In other words, new types of gifts that dads ask for, suggest or receive.

“One of the fields where we see an increase in different searches is in the presents that the children make related to sharing experiencesCarreon said. And he added: “a typical case that we notice is an increasing profile of parents very involved with the outdoor activities with your children. That is why we are not surprised that there is an increase in brands that offer various products that allow us to enjoy more and better situations in nature and the outdoors”.

Of course, this does not automatically imply thinking only of a backpack or trekking shoes. There are also companies that we offer experiences that can accompany this date of Father’s Day in various ways. Some are typical, such as multi-step family lunches organized by classic hotels such as the Sheraton or Hilton, to different ideas that do not have a direct economic contentbut that does generate an approach to the consumer, such as a Playlist for that day that can be sponsored by a company or also assembled “at home”.

X-ray of the parents in 2023

Current demographic statistics indicate that almost sixty out of every hundred Argentine men, over 16 years old, children parents. On the other hand, 25% of all Argentine men are not, nor do they plan to be parents in the future while 19% are not yet a father, but do plan to be.

The number of Argentine men who do not have children, nor do they plan to have them, rises to 46% of young people between 16 and 24 years of age. All these responses come from a survey prepared by the consulting firm Voices, WIN International and the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).

Among the questions asked to find out more details about the forms that paternity takes in today’s Argentina, some on education are included. As explained by Constanza Cilley, director of Voices“Argentine men stated that they dedicated an average of 4 hours and 40 minutes of their daily workday to their children.

In what areas do they do it? Although the resolution of school tasks continues to fall mainly on the mothers, the majority of the fathers responded that they dedicate time to school supervision and enjoy accompanying their children in this educational field: that is what seven out of ten fathers affirm.

What are the activities in which more participants? The most popular among parents are the transfers to school and to and from extracurricular activities (six out of ten parents say they do them respectively).

Then, close to half state that they help their children with homework and with their studies. And, in what areas does the man contribute?less” To his family? According to Cilley, the tasks that “fewer” parents perform are those that have to do with preparing clothes for school and communicating with the families of their classmates.

Right around the already classic”mommy chat”, another striking social trend appears: it is clear that there are fathers who do participate in these WhatsApp groups, but less than mothers, however among the men who do participate, they claim to be more satisfied than mothers with their functioning as a “communication channel”.