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Move Over Hallmark, Wal-Mart Is the Nation's Top Source for Gifts

Unity Marketing publishes the Gifting Report 2007 with the latest statistics on the gifting market

Stevens, PA July 18, 2007 -- Hallmark may be the brand people think about when they care to send the best, but when it comes to choosing a gift, Wal-Mart takes the lead. This according to the just published Gifting Report 2007 from Unity Marketing, the definitive guide to the gift-giving habits of American consumers. The report is compiled from surveys of over 2,800 gift givers conducted during 2006 (50/50 male/female; avg. age 42.7 years; avg. income $63,000).

Discount department stores were the top choice for gift shoppers in all eight gift product categories included in the survey. Wal-Mart was gift shoppers' favorite destination, chosen by 42 percent of gift shoppers for gift purchases, followed by Target, a source for 31 percent of gift shoppers during the year.

According to the report, the typical gift giver spent $2,643 on gift purchases in 2006, with an additional $78 spent on gift cards, wrapping paper, ribbons and other gifting accessories. This represents an increase of 13.5 percent over the average amount spent by gifters in 2005.

"In 2006 gift shoppers spent more of their gift-giving budgets on occasion-driven gifts that occur throughout the year, such as birthdays, anniversaries, travel souvenirs, friendship gifts, etc., as opposed to holiday gifts," explains Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience.

"This is an especially important trend for retailers. Retailers typically do a very good job serving gift shoppers for those predictable holidays � Christmas, Mother's Day. Valentine's Day and Father's Day are the top ranked gifting holidays � but they need to develop strategies to make their stores a better destination for gift shopping all 365-days a year. Nearly 42 percent of gift shoppers' annual budgets were spent buying gifts for gifting occasions, as compared to 38.5 percent in 2005. There is no longer a single gifting 'season.'"

"Buying a gift is an important reason why people shop, not just during the fourth quarter, but throughout the rest of the year too," Danziger continues. "Gift shoppers impact on the U.S. economy is powerful. In 2006 consumers spent an estimated $300 billion buying gifts, which is roughly 10 percent of the total $3 trillion consumer retail market."

Danziger concludes, "This new research study provides retailers and product marketers vital consumer insights about the gift-buying customer, their preferences in gifts, how much they spend, and where they shop."

New Consumer Insights on Gift Giving Now Available

Unity Marketing's new Gifting Report 2007 provides the latest information about consumers' gift giving and shopping preferences. It is based upon quarterly Gift Tracker surveys of over 2,800 gift-giving consumers in 2006 and compares the results to surveys conducted in 2005 among 1,200 gift shoppers. Included in the report are both qualitative and quantitative research among gift buyers and givers.

This research study reports on the following:

Gifting behavior by holiday and occasion: By getting closer to the gifting occasion, Unity Marketing�s quarterly national tracking study discovers key characteristics of the gifting market, such as on what holidays and occasions consumers buy gifts, how many people they buy gifts for and how much they spend. Also, it reveals what range of products they choose for gifts, what drives their selection of particular gifts and what drives their selection of stores to shop for gifts.
Demographics of the gifting market: How many households buy gifts, what types of gifts do they buy, how much they spend, where they shop for specific types of gifts and what are the different demographic segments within the gifts market (e.g. HHI, age, size, composition, education, etc.)?
Gifts market buying behavior: What are the primary characteristics of the consumers� buying behavior related to different gifts? What makes a good gift? What attributes and qualities make gifters want to buy? Where do they shop for these items; how do they decide to purchase one item over another? What is the role of brand in gifting buying behavior? What is the purchase incidence and spending on key categories of gifts?
Psychographic profile and segmentation of the gifting market: The psychographic profile of gift consumers reveals their different drives and motivations in purchasing gifts. What factors are more or less important in driving gift purchasing decisions? How can gifts marketers and retailers better understand the hearts and minds of their consumers and use that insight to capture a greater share of the consumers' gifting budget? In essence we reveal 'why people buy gifts"

Over 60 Specific Gift Products and 66 Brands Are Included

Over 60 specific categories of gift items within nine major categories of goods and services are detailed. The major categories of gifts include:

Consumables (such as food, candy, wine, gift baskets, etc.)
Clothing and/or fashion accessories (such as handbags, shoes, wallets, etc.)
Jewelry and/or watches
Personal care products (such as cosmetics, perfumes, bath products, etc.)
Home furnishings and household operations products (such as home furnishings, decorative accents, housewares, home textiles, china, glass and tableware, small household appliances)
Giftables (such as flowers, candles, figurines, collectibles, greeting cards, stationery, crafting kits and supplies, seasonal decorations, gifts for pets and/or other popular gift-type items)
Entertainment and/or recreation goods (such as books, toys, sporting goods, video/audio, DVDs and entertainment equipment, photographic equipment, computers, games, etc.)
Store gift certificate and/or gift of cash
Gifts of experience (such as spa treatments, dining and restaurants, vacations, trips, travel, special events, etc. which are often presented as a gift card or gift certificate

In addition, 66 gift brands, including both product brands and retailer brands are ranked according to gift shopper purchase incidence. The list of brands included are available at http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_gifting/gifting/report_06.php

For more information on Gifting Report 2007, click this link
http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/cms_gifting/gifting/report_06.php

For media: Charts, tables and graphs, including a list of the top ten gift items for 2006 are available upon request.

About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing
Pamela N. Danziger is an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses or the 'classes.' She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992.
Advising such clients as Cartier, PPR, Diageo, Stearns & Foster, Waterford/Wedgwood, Prudential Fine Homes, Ritz Carlton, Orient-Express Hotels, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury consumer marketplace.

In recognition of her ground-breaking work in the luxury consumer market, Pam received the Global Luxury Award presented by Russia's Harper's Bazaar magazine for top luxury industry achievers in 2007.

Her latest book is Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, published by Kaplan Publishing in October 2006. Her other books include Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses�as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).

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