Companies offer Father’s Day email opt out for bereaved customers

Retailers are offering consumers the chance to opt out of Father’s Day-related marketing emails this year in a bid to reduce painful reminders for people who have lost a father or partner.

Firms including bookseller Waterstones and flower delivery company Bloom & Wild said they wanted to make things easier for people for whom Father’s Day is not a happy occasion.

Companies have told customers they can stop receiving marketing messages about the event, but still remain signed up to their other emails.

Bereavement charities welcomed the move, which they described as “encouraging”.

James Jopling, executive director of Samaritans Scotland, said: “We know events like Father’s Day can be difficult for people for a range of reasons, particularly for anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide.

“So it’s important for companies to recognise that, while Father’s Day will be a source of happiness for many people, for others it can be a particularly painful time. It’s therefore encouraging to see organisations showing sensitivity and offering customers the opportunity to opt-out of marketing messages, giving people the space to process their feelings in their own way.”

In an email to customers, online beauty firm Treatwell wrote: “Already, there’s a lot of talk about Father’s Day out there and we know that for some people, this can be a sensitive occasion. If you’d rather not hear about it from us, we’ll do our best to make sure that you don’t.”

Sara Gordon, spokeswoman for Bloom & Wild, said: “Last year we spoke to some of our customers who shared that this time of year can be a really hard time for them as their father may not be around or they have had trials around parenthood.

“It was a mix of genius from our technology team to be able to exclude peak occasion focused emails, but also our customer relationship management team who wanted to deploy this initiative.”

She added: “It’s the right, responsible thing to do and shows a high level of care for the people who shop with us.”