United States gift-giving customs

The gift-giving and purchasing industries

The gift-giving and purchasing industries have grown significantly over the past ten years in most nations, but especially in the United States, where consumers spend more than $130 billion on gifts annually, or about 3% of the over $5 trillion global retail market. This change is important and has helped a wide range of domestic manufacturers and vendors make good profits. There are more than 36,000 specialty gift shops across the nation, and the majority of them rely on customer gift-buying habits. Some of the industry’s leading businesses include from recreational to entertainment products, fashion accessories and clothing to luxury products such as watches or jewelry.

Gift Giving History

Presently in the United States and most countries across the globe, there are numerous kinds of unique gifts occasions from Christmas, birthdays, baby showers, weddings, and anniversaries just to name a few (Gershon). However, despite these many occasions it is important to understand how it came about and the cultural significance it plays in the American society.

The act of gift giving

The act of gift giving is as old as humankind however in the American nation it is traced back to the Native Americans much celebrated extreme gift giving with the potlatch which signified life events such as births, deaths, adoptions and weddings (Hoxie 47). This is a practice which dates back thousands of years, and often families with the most prestige were the ones who gave the most lavish gifts. Also, considering the founding fathers of the United States, they also practiced diplomatic gift giving that was disclosed to the public with a rule ensuring that any gift given to the president amounting to more than $335 must be turned over to the state. This was done so to influence a culture that is corruption free and upholds the integrity, transparency, and accountability of positions of powers.

The traditional holiday season

The traditional holiday season in the U.S begins with Thanksgiving followed by Christmas then New Year’s Eve. Modern media, however, has extended this season of tradition and culture to St Valentine’s Day as well. The cultural significance of such holiday seasons dictates presenting family, friends, business associates among much more with gifts.

Sectors Affected by Gift Giving Behaviors

The changing business environment due to demands on gift giving behavior has led to the importance of marketing management and commercialization research which make the difference between a top company and an insignificant one. Therefore, such behavior mostly leads to competition and at most time the retailing industry suffers most. Although most businesses try to attract the largest share of gifting budget possible, they are unable to serve all customers. Only big retails can satisfy most consumers with a gift giving behavior since they have the economic advantage and strength to offer gift products and an adding a plus in service. Small retailers are left to struggle and look for other ways to attract customers who fall under this domain. Additionally, specialty shops for luxury gifts such as watches, necklaces, and other jewelry ornaments tend to steal most clients in such a season where gifts are given to appreciate important social aspect such as friendship, marriage anniversaries, dating among other things. Business tends to be differentiated at such a time thus leading to sharing of profit margins by many retailing outlets.

Marketing Opportunities

Gifting represents a double opportunity for most retailing and marketing decision makers. Stakeholders in the industry are expected to relate to two different markets with one lucky opportunity of landing buyers and receivers of such gifts. An exponential marketing opportunity presents itself from this perspective where marketers combine the efficiency of sampling with the credibility of word of mouth hence attracting both purchasers and receivers to increase profits.

Gift shopping throughout the year

Gift shopping is not only limited to holiday seasons but throughout the year. According to US statistical data, 60% of the gifting budget of the average consumer is spent in the first ten months of the year with 40% concentrated around Christmas. Therefore, with proficient marketing initiative, marketers position themselves to fully understanding the dynamics of gift shopping which is an advantage to the business.

Focusing on consumer satisfaction

Gift giving is all about creating a connection between the purchaser and the receiver. Therefore instead of focusing marketing efforts on product development and merchandising, marketers have a new opportunity to focus on a more effective option of consumer satisfaction which is less expensive and has far much better returns (Blythe 367). Companies often use a lot of capital filling stocks to enable customers to have alternatives. Although this is also a marketing opportunity, it is limited and risks most company’s economic feasibility especially small and medium-sized ones. Focusing on satisfying the consumers through targeted socially relevant product marketing goes a long way towards maximizing profits during gift-giving seasons.

References

Blythe, Jim. Principles & Practice Of Marketing. 1st ed. SAGE, 2013.

Gershon, Livia. “The Demographics Of U.S. Holiday Gift-Giving”. JSTOR Daily, Dec. 2014, https://daily.jstor.org/demographics-holiday-gift-giving. Accessed 1 May 2017.

Hoxie, Frederick E. The Oxford Handbook Of American Indian History. 1st ed. Oxford University Press, 2016.