Gifts and novelty category saw a major surge and hit 3.6 times its normal gross merchandise value (GMV) share
The week leading up to Father’s Day 2026 saw massive shopping activity as orders reached 3.4 million during the week, while Father’s Day Sunday alone made it the busiest day of late June, as per a report. However, gadgets saw no major spike in demand.
A report by GoKwik, which revealed the data of its merchant network, noted that the gifts and novelty category saw a major surge and hit 3.6 times its normal gross merchandise value (GMV) share. The report added that the category witnessed only a mild bump for the past two year during this week.
Men’s grooming and fragrance options also stood out. The ‘Beast Mode’ fragrance gift set alone recorded 10,800 orders, reflecting a 1.5-times lift compared to its normal baseline. Several pocket perfumes and men’s grooming gift sets appeared in top product lists with near-zero base week volumes, the report emphasised.
Electronics performed no differently than any regular week, holding an over-index score between 0.8x and 1.1x across all three years. Prepaid share on the GoKwik network during Father’s Day week was 33 per cent in 2024, 47 per cent in 2025 and 55.9 per cent in 2026.
“That is a consistent, meaningful move away from COD over three years. This mirrors a broader D2C market trend. Shoppers planning a gift purchase appear comfortable paying upfront, which tends to correlate with higher intent and lower return rates,” the report added.
Brands are scaling up their Father’s Day marketing efforts every year. The number of participating merchants grew 55 per cent YoY in 2025 and a further 92 per cent YoY in 2026, while campaign-driven GMV increased 57 per cent YoY and 64 per cent YoY respectively.
Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities all came in at a 1.0x over-index during Father’s Day week 2026. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu led in absolute GMV, the report mentioned.
