Gifting Report 2006: The Who, What, Where, How Much and Why of Gift Giving & Shopping

In 2005 consumers spent an estimated $282 billion buying gifts - that amounts to roughly 10 percent of the total $2.8 trillion retail market. Companies that design and develop 'giftables,' as well as the nation's 36,000 specialty gift retailers are even more dependent for revenues and profits upon the gift-shopping behavior of consumers.

But many other companies that manufacture such popular gift items as entertainment and recreation products, clothing and fashion accessories, jewelry and watches and consumables, also need to take into account the special needs of the gift shopper in their marketing and strategic planning.

Also highly dependent upon the gift market are the nation's leading discount department stores, the favorite destination for gift shoppers in 2005. Finally, many national retailers and experiential gift providers, such as spas and restaurants, make gift certificate marketing programs an essential part of their brand-building and revenue-generating strategies.

For these companies and retailers, having the latest information about consumers' gift giving and shopping preferences is vital to assure that they are getting their fair share of the consumers' gifting budgets and to plan new marketing programs to stimulate more gifting revenue.

New Consumer Insights Study on Gift Giving Now Available

Unity Marketing, a marketing research and consulting firm on the forefront of gifting research, has just published theGifting Report 2006 to provide vital information and insights on consumers' gift preferences and shopping behavior. Among the key findings in this new research report based upon surveys with over 1,200 gift-giving consumers:

• After entertainment and recreational gifts (notably books, CDs, DVDs, toys, dolls and games, etc.), gift certificates were the second most popular gift purchase. Discount department stores were the top source for gift certificates.
• The typical gifter spent $1,935 buying gifts in 2005, about 60 percent of their budget was spent buying gifts for holidays ($1,190) and about 40 percent buying gifts for various gift-giving occasions (e.g. birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, etc.) that occur throughout the year ($745).
• Christmas gift purchases (average spent $870 in 2005) and birthday gifts (average spent $431) were the two biggest gift-giving occurrences in 2005 with nearly all gifters buying Christmas gifts and 82 percent buying one or more birthday gifts throughout the year.
• Some 60 percent of gift buyers almost always accompany the gifts they give with a card, but that leaves 40 percent who only occasionally or rarely add on a card purchase when shopping for a gift.
• In 'giftables,' the category that includes many popular items that are traditionally thought of as gifts, candles and candle accessories were the most frequently purchased gift item, bought by 35 percent of giftables buyers, followed by flowers, plants and garden accessories, bought by 32 percent of gifters; seasonal decorations and ornaments, 20 percent and especially strong in the fourth quarter gifting season, and gifts for pets, bought by 18 percent. The giftables' buyers spent on average $246 buying these gifts during 2005.

Consumer Insights about Gift Giving for all Holidays and Occasions throughout the Year

With a focus on the gift giver and their gifting behavior, Unity Marketing conducted a major tracking study of the gifting consumer throughout 2005. The first research tracking study of its kind, this report presents findings from qualitative and quantitative research among gift buyers and givers compiled from the 2005 tracking study. The purpose of the research study is to investigate 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 will reveal 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 will discover "why people buy gifts."

Over 60 Specific Gift Products 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)

Special Feature: Profiles of Four Unique Gifters' Personalities

A special feature in Unity Marketing's Gifting Report 2006 is a psychographic profile of the four key personalities of gifting consumers. These include:

• Emotional Ethel/Ed is the most highly involved gift giver and shopper. This personality is about equally divided between men and women, thus the two names. Ethel/Ed loves the entire process of gift giving and shopping. This personality spends the most buying gifts.
• Practical Patty is a planner in every aspect of her life; gift shopping is no exception. She is 'making her list and checking it twice' early in the shopping season and is the type of gift shopper many of us envy because she has finished all her Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. Patty spends more than average when buying gifts.
• Gift-Challenged Charlie wants to give gifts and feels a strong responsibility to give gifts, but the entire gift-giving and shopping process doesn't come easy to him. Charlie is challenged when it comes to shopping for gifts and selecting the right item. He spends significantly less than average on gifts.
• Just-in-Time Justin is a fairly normative gift purchaser who spends just about the average on his gift purchases. He likes to shop for gifts, feels gifting is important in his life and knows what kind of gifts he wants to give, unlike Gift-Challenged Charlie. What is distinctive about Justin is that he waits and waits to do his gift shopping, so for him gift shopping is always about doing it at the last minute. About 60 percent of Justins are men, but that leaves a fairly large 40 percent of the personality who are actually Justines.

May 2006 (134 pages) Regular Price: $2,500

(Subscription fee for Gifting Report 2006 can be credited towards the subscription fee for one-year of Gift Tracker for first-time subscribers)

Major Findings

Table of Contents (PDF)

Introduction & Methodology (PDF)

Sample Page (PDF)

Individual Chapters in PDF format:
(The price of each chapter bought may be credited towards subscription of the full report)

Chapter 2 & 9: Gifting Market Executive Summary
22 pages $750