Christmas Gifting Season to Be Strongest in Years

Furniture World Magazine

Christmas 2003 will be one of the strongest gift-giving seasons in recent memory, according to new research on ‘gifting’ from Unity Marketing. "Gift shopping is the ultimate in ‘emotional consumerism,’ since gift giving is about emotionally connecting gift givers and gift recipients," says Pam Danziger, Unity’s president and author of Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need. "There’s a flood of survey reports about what consumers plan to spend this holiday season, but the Unity Marketing study takes a totally different tactic," explains Danziger. "Ask shoppers how much they plan to spend gift shopping for Christmas 2003 and the majority will tell you about the same or less than last year, because that is the ‘rational, left-brain’ answer." "An examination of gift-giving behavior, which is not rational, but emotional, shows that 87 percent of consumers have spent more (32 percent) or the same (55 percent) on gifts over the past year. Combine this finding with the fact that 85 percent bought more or the same number of gifts in the past year, and 89 percent are giving gifts to more or the same number of people, and the coming Christmas gift shopping season promises to be the best in years," Danziger predicts. "We could see sales increases from 5 to 10 percent in November and December, with only the potential for rampant discounting moderating results." "Gifting prospects for 2004 also appear strong. The trend driving the growing gifting market is consumers’ need to connect in meaningful, emotional ways with those they care about. After spending the past 20 years at home in their ‘cocoons,’ today’s consumers are like butterflies emerging to seek to reconnect with the outside world. They find new meaning in relationships that is often expressed through gifting," Danziger explains. Methodology — Gift buying throughout the year Based upon a survey of 950 ‘serious’ gift-givers, (people who spent $250 or more buying gifts in the past year), the Unity survey is the first to examine gift-giving and shopping behavior throughout the year. Here are major findings of the gifting research survey: •Gifting is a $253 billion market and represents about 10 percent of the consumer economy. Buying gifts for their family and friends accounts for roughly 10 percent of the nation’s $2.7 trillion consumer retail economy. The trend will continue as more spending is directed toward things to give away, rather than things that fill their own home. •Gifting is major reason to shop not just at Christmas but throughout the year. With an average annual gift budget of $2,062, gift-giving represents an important reason for consumers to shop, not just for the holiday season but also throughout the year. Christmas gift-giving accounts for about 40 percent of the serious gifters’ annual budget, or $843. Birthdays with an average annual budget of $349 represent 16 percent of the total. Overall, holiday spending, i.e. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day, etc., totals $1,089 (53 percent of annual budget) and gifting occasions, including anniversaries, weddings, friendship, new baby, housewarming, etc., accounts for 47 percent of spending or $973. •Majority of gifters shop for gifts regularly in discount department stores, while traditional department stores are relied on next for gifts. Discount department stores, including mass merchants, warehouse clubs and dollar stores, are used regularly by 50 percent of gifters, who turn next to traditional department stores. About one-third of gifters regularly shop traditional department stores for gifts, while 47 percent occasionally shop there. •Finding good gifts at good prices is top criteria when selecting stores for gift shopping. Good prices are the number one criteria for 65 percent of the gift shoppers in selecting a store to shop for gifts. The next most important criteria rated as "very important" are ability to find things easily (54 percent); offers a wide selection of gifts (49 percent); convenience (49 percent); and ease of return (47 percent). •Gifters go shopping to find gift inspiration. When shopping, gifters look for something the recipient will like, as well as one priced right. But they also want to find something that the recipients are not likely to buy for themselves. They value emotion in the gifting equation and want a gift that carries a surprise factor, as well as emotional meaning. The serious gifter is always on the lookout for a good gift. They are not last minute shoppers, but buy things when they see it and store them to give at a later date. The way the gift is presented is also very important, so they buy cards and wrap the gift to make a good impression. They often go to the store without a specific idea in mind, but look for inspiration from the displays, often shopping in several stores to find the right gift. For more information about consumers’ gift giving and shopping, visit http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/gifting/. An executive summary of the topline findings of Unity’s new gifting consumer research is available to the media by request to pam@unitymarketingonline.com. The results of this study will be published in an upcoming Unity report with the final results announced in presentations this January at the GLM gift shows: Atlanta, 1/11/04; Los Angeles, 1/18/04; and New York International Gift Fair, 2/2/04. For more information about the report, contact Pam Danziger, 717-336-1600; pam@unitymarketingonline.com