Remember-me-nots
HOLIDAY GIFTS | It's tough finding that standout present
From last-minute holiday shoppers who say they work best on deadline to the long-term strategist who picks up gifts over the course of the year, we all like to think we're picking out the gift that will be used or remembered for years to come.
But nearly half the time we would be wrong, a new survey suggests.
(Sun-Times file)
Turns out 41 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed couldn't remember the best gift they received last holiday season, according to a study released last month by Excitations, a company that sells trendy "experience" gifts ranging from gourmet cooking classes to whitewater rafting trips.
While it might be easy to be cynical about such a study, marketing experts say Excitations is likely on to something.
"Translated, they're saying there wasn't a memorable gift," Anne Brouwer, a senior partner at the Chicago-based retail consulting firm McMillan Doolittle, said of the study.
Brouwer and others say this gift amnesia may boil down to two words: gift cards.
"Since you're giving someone essentially cash, it's not going to be memorable," she said.
And once you do cash in the item, the passage of time can make it tough to remember the gift card that became a kitchen gadget.
Very often, time-starved consumers aren't sure what to give people, but have a sense of their taste, says Marshal Cohen of the New York consumer retail firm NPD Group.
"They're thinking, 'I have no idea what to get you for Christmas, so isn't it better ... to get you something from a store you like and let you figure out?' So we're seeing a holiday that's less about thoughtfulness and more about ... just giving."
According to Cohen, 51 percent of consumers find gift cards are perfectly acceptable, up from 23 percent just three years ago.
Analysts also say that while electronics have been all the rage during this gift-giving season, there is no it gift that has everyone abuzz. Like a Cabbage Patch Doll. Or cashmere.
Couple that with statistics showing spending power for about 80 percent of households has remained flat in recent decades, Brouwer said, and that makes it tough to buy blockbuster gifts.
Good economy or bad, there's often a bulk-buying mind-set during the holidays, says William Melberg, a marketing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"A lot of consumers do a lot of volume kind of Christmas purchases rather than quality Christmas purchases so that everyone has something to open for Christmas, rather than thinking, 'What would the recipient really like for Christmas? A new blanket? A video game or maybe a DVD disc of a story that touches them?'
"It's very difficult to go shopping to get a quality gift because you have to spend a lot of time sifting through what someone would like or need," Melberg said.
Not connecting with people and understanding their wants and needs is a reflection of the times we live in. "That's why we don't remember what we got last year."
It's been Melberg's own experience that a sense of humor can carry you through the gift-giving experience.
He recalled the "aha" moment he had at Pottery Barn a few years back. There they were, those wonderful mugs each featuring a different reindeer on Santa's team. And yes, Vixen was wearing her red lipstick.
He picked up 17 of them and days before the family gathering sent each a cryptic e-mail asking which reindeer is their favorite.
Today, he says, when family members pull out the mug of their favorite reindeer, they get to tap in to those fond memories of a past Christmas.
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