Plastic pre-loaded gift cards are big business these days and it seems almost everyone has given or at least received one for a birthday gift!
Have you ever bought a gift card? If you haven’t, what would you spend? Where do you expect to see them in a store? And if you’re a retailer, are you stocking them?
Fill out our fun, quick, anonymous gift card survey and let us know!
Ever felt a bit down and went straight for foods and other items that are old favourites? And on holidays when you were raring to go you were in the mood to try something something new?
US psychologists have confirmed that people prefer items which are tried-and-true that they’re already familiar with (this is not the same thing as items that are regifted, though!) when they’re feeling depressed and that they seek novelty and excitement when they’re happy. In fact, familiar experiences and products are boring when people are in a fantastic mood…
University of California, San Diego psychology professor Piotr Winkielman found that the value of familiarity depends on the context. Familiarity infers safety which is ideal when people feel upset (”comfort” foods like chocolate for break-ups, anyone?) but the same-old, same-old becomes borning when all is going well.
In terms of gifts, this means you need to pay careful attention to the mood and the circumstances of the person receiving the gift.
Anniversary gifts - generally a wedding anniversary is a happy time - give them something unusual to spark some excitement!
Bereavement gifts - this is when you turn up with soup, food, a favourite CD or book - no surprises are appreciated.
Birthday gifts - ooooh…. This depends if it’s a birthday they’re looking forward to (which is generally every birthday for people aged under 21) in which case give ‘em some novelty, but if it’s a “milestone”, they might be a bit upset about the perceived passing of time - give them something familiar…
Christmas gifts - even if it never turns out the way you expect, nearly everyone looks forward to Christmas. Novelty works when people are happy which is why Kris Kringles can be a hit (finding all those weird things under $20).
Engagement gifts - again, give them something fun and new to look forward to.
New baby gifts - this depends… Is it a long-awaited first child? Baby gifts that are really unique are ideal. But what about a couple who’ve just discovered they’re about to have twins (and they already have a child or two)? If they’re feeling stressed about the expense and extra responsibility, perhaps you should choose something they already know and like. Like money.
Valentine’s Day gifts - get fresh by keeping it fresh. Nothing makes a romance get boring faster than the same-old flower and chocolate routine.
Wedding gifts - this is traditionally a very happy time so gifts that are out of the ordinary would be great. Then again if you’re Liz Taylor and you’re marrying yet again, you can add to your place settings.
It’s not just because, if she’s like the average woman who has at least 7 bottles of fragrance on her dresser, she doesn’t need any more, and he just ran panicking into the nearest department store to swoop down on the first cosmetic counter, so it’s often a lame gift idea. No, sirree!
According to a new study in Psychological Science, going au naturel may be the most seductive perfume of all…
Psychology scientists Saul L. Miller and Jon. K. Maner from Florida State University asked a group of women to wear t-shirts for three nights during various stages of their menstrual cycles and not to wear perfume during the experiment so it smelled ummm, natural.
Male volunteers then smelled t-shirts worn by women who had been ovulating, by those who were not, as well as brand-new t-shirts that had not been worn by anyone.
The men who smelled the t-shirts worn by ovulating women had higher levels of testosterone than the men who smelled t-shirts by non-ovulating women and those who enhaled the brand-new t-shirts.
Showing that nothing has changed, men are significantly more physically attracted to women who are ovulating even if they don’t consciously know she is at her most fertile.
It was not reported if the men had to give the t-shirts back.
A new Valentines Day gifts survey has found that while many women receive flowers, what they really want is a romantic weekend away or a personalised gift from their partner.
The online survey by It’s In The Stars found that what women wanted to receive for Valentine’s Day was a weekend away (30.4%), a romantic personalised gift (22.9%) or jewellery (17.6%).
What they’re actually getting are flowers (41.9%), chocolate (14.7%) and personalised gifts (11.0%). While 3.6% had received lingerie, not one woman wanted it as a Valentine’s Day gift.
Of the three age groups, Generation X (31-43 years) was the most likely to receive flowers (55.8%), while Gen Y women (18-30 years) got the personalised romantic gifts (19.0%) and Baby Boomer women recieved chocolate (17.9%).
I’d say that men might get the raw end of the bargain on 14 February as 82.4% of all women spent less than $100 on their last Valentine’s Day gift!
Gen X women are the most likely to spend under $50 (43.1%) but also over $200 (12.1%). Gen Ys stump up for gifts $101-$200 (13.3%) while Baby Boomer women prefer to spend $51-$100 (46.3%).
The top five locations where women bought their Valentine’s Day gifts were department stores (27.0%), specialty/personalised gift websites (16.8%), big box retailer eg Target (13.9%), boutique/specialty stores (10.9%), and supermarket/grocery stores (7.3%).
Women living in rural/regional areas were twice as likely as city girls to buy Valentine’s Day gifts online from a specialty/personalised gift website (25.6% vs 12.1%).
Just over half (52.3%) of all respondents would give their partner a gift certificate for Valentine’s Day.
And finally, the Sun sign voted as the best Valentine’s Day gift-giver was an equal tie between Cancer and Pisces (12.2% each), with Gemini and Aquarius in second place (10.0% each) and followed by Taurus (9.3%).
Aries men are the least likely to have have given a great Valentine’s Day gift (5.0%).
A survey by the American National Confectioners Association has found that ony 6% of men receive Valentines Day gifts.
The average man spends $130 on chocolate, cards and other gifts (boy, that is a LOT of chocolate - or a lot of other Valentines Day gifts - take part in OUR survey). In the US, where Things Are A Little Different, children receive the most candy and gifts at 39%. Mothers and wives dole out Valentines Day gifts to their partners and children, and come in second place at 36%.
Between the mothers/wives and the kids, they are six times more likely to receive gifts than anyone else, including pets.
Isn’t chocolate bad for Rover?!
A survey of 9,929 US consumers found that the average shopper had done less than half of their Christmas gift shopping as of 12 December. (Have you finished yours?)
Showing we’re a little less organised than last year, the survey by the National Retail Federation found the average shopper had done only 46.7% of their shopping by the end of the second week of December, compared to 47.1% in 2008 - and it was the lowest level since 2004 (back in the good ol’ days when people planned ahead). Thirty-five percent planned to finish their shopping by Saturday 19 December.
The analysts think that shoppers are waiting for last-minute bargains at the department stores and online. Unfortunately, the things you want the bargains for are rarely the things on sale!
The survey also found that a further 42 million people hadn’t even started their shopping as of 12 December which means, oh, complete bedlam at the mall next week. That is, unless they’re taking advantage of Free Shipping Day (17 December)?
I hope so! There’s a “challenging” Sun conjunct Pluto aspect on 24 December, which suggests everyone might get more than a little nasty then as they battle with lack of co-operation, excessive bullying, and control and power issues (sounds like Christmas to me). Count to ten if you feel things are getting out of control, such as other customers abusing sales staff (or vice versa). There could be waaaaaaay too many “”I saw it first!” type punch-ups going on at the mall.
If your family still insists on serving the traditional Christmas roast turkey for dinner, be thankful: that bird could save you a fortune on shopping the next day!
A study has found that stomach-sticking meals make consumers shop less. We’ve already been nagged not to shop on a hungry tummy, and I wrote earlier about diets making you more prone to impulse-shop, but now there’s a reason we should eat and be merry on Christmas Eve - it’ll help keep us out of the shops on Boxing Day!
Researchers from the University of Utah did their study on Thanksgiving meals and the correlating bun-rush in the shops on Black Friday but the results could apply equally to Christmas Day and the Boxing Day sales, too.
Arul and Himanshu Mishra found that the type of food consumed during Thanksgiving (or Christmas) can influence whether consumers go to the sales the next day or not and even restrains their impulse purchases.
Food like tryptophan-rich turkey and carbohydrate-packed potatoes increases levels of serotonin, a chemical that affects mood, appetite, sleep and some cognition. Serotonin levels have also been shown to correlate with impulsive behaviors. The Mishras found people who have increased levels of serotonin, such as someone who recently ate a large Christmas turkey dinner, are less prone to impulsive purchases.
But it’s not just stodgy foods like potatoes that stop us going silly at the mall - apparently even protein shakes, which are high in serotonin, can do the same thing.
Impulse shoppers are typically searching “for something” but it turns out what they really need to stop wasting money is satiety (a feeling of fullness).
If you’re battling the urge to go shopping, reconsider those Aussie prawns on the barbie for Christmas and consider a turkey, instead. You’ll find it easy to go cold turkey - both on your plate and at the shops.
If your Christmas gift from Aunt Samantha, Uncle Wayne or perhaps your parents seems suspiciously “used”, with tags missing, the clothing rumpled and non-starched or that “new” smell missing, it’s quite possible they’ve regifted it.
A survey of more than 1,100 Baby Boomers by New Zealand website Grownups.co.nz found that almost 50% of respondents felt there was nothing wrong with regifting unwanted presents (yeah right, they were sooooo good that they had to pass them on).
I don’t know when Oldtimers Disease kicks in but amazingly, 66% of respondents (aged 44-64) admitted to forgetting to buy a Christmas gift for their partner! Arghhh!!! I hope they didn’t get themselves out of the doghouse by regifting what their partner gave them back to their long-suffering other half…
But to make up for this, they are particularly generous to charity with 28% giving at Christmas-time and a further 59% giving money to charity throughout the year.
If you’ve set yourself a strict Christmas gift budget and you’re afraid that you won’t have enough money to buy everyone gifts, between now until Christmas, you really might be better off staying out of the mall and shopping online instead.
Ever rolled up your sleeves to try out the hand moisturiser tester pots, caressed a gorgeous cashmere sweater, eaten yummy new products plied by sample rep at the deli or sat in the sofa at Borders with a riveting bestseller - and then bought it?
A study in the Journal of Consumer Research has concluded what we’ve known all along: that touching something in a store increases your perception of ownership.
Merely touching something creates a physical connection to a product which increases the feelings of ownership towards a product. This makes you more willing to pay more for the product you’ve touched vs the one you haven’t touched. This goes some way to explaining why you can browse an online store without buying anything immediately. If you really love it, you typically come back the next day with the details you need ie size, colour, or whatever else you need to complete the purchase.
There’s no accident chocolates are placed at children’s eye levels in supermarkets - and there’s no real altruism behind Apple’s tactic of letting you play with their Macs, iPhone and iPod! Not only are you familiarising yourself with the product, you are becoming their best salesperson for yourself - “yes, you really must have it.”
If you’re aware of your tendency to spend more than you mean to, the next time a shop asssistant suggest you try it on (”it will look fabulous on you”) - run.
In the latest Christmas gifts survey by It’s In The Stars, we discovered:
* The top five most popular Christmas gifts of 2008 were personalised gifts (24.3%), clothes/shoes/accessories/jewllery (20.3%), books/CDs/DVDs (16.2%), electronic gadgets (16.2%) and beauty/fragrance/health (12.8%)
* One in three people (34.4%) buy Christmas gifts (or any sort of gifts) throughout the year when they see something suitable or on sale
* 45.0% of men vs 23.9% of women have not bought gifts online
* 78.4% will spend more than $75 on Christmas gifts per child, while 75.4% will spend over $75 on their partner
* Kris Kringles are considered the best idea ever to save money, time and hassle for work (41.9%), family (23.5%) and friends (21.9%) - and Generation Y is the most likely to hate family Kris Kringles with a passion (34.0%)
* Nearly half would use online gift suggestions (49.7%) to help them select the right gift with Generation Y the most likely to use it (57.4%)
* 33.3% would use a gift wishlist so they would know what others wanted, but only 21.8% would use a gift wishlist so others would know what they wanted
* Only 20.4% would use fee-based gift wrapping