The FINANCIAL — WATERLOO, Belgium — The key tomaximising revenue in 2015 might be dialling up a customers’ choice of gifts with a personal touch, especially during gifting seasons. So says a study commissioned by MasterCard on consumers’ seasonal spending habits revealing gifts that can be personalised (46%) and gifts with personal meaning behind them (44%) are what people both prefer to give and receive from loved ones.
The European wide study of over 15,000 consumers across 17 countries unearths perceptions of gifting amid a climate of consumerism and the day-to-day demands of people’s time. The findings perhaps also reflect the continued economic pressures across Europe that people feel personally. The study underlined that in these times, thoughtfulness is what matters most to customers: understanding what people really want (87%) and being thoughtful (86%) are people’s top priorities when it comes to gifting.
Adding to the emphasis placed on thoughtfulness, the study highlighted that nearly a third of Europeans think giving cash as a gift is offensive, although one in ten still admit to having done so. One excuse recipients of a cash gift have given is that their loved ones didn’t know what to buy (45%). This presents an opportunity to retailers who could help these shoppers spend more thoughtfully, thus ensuring the revenue does not bypass their store as it would with a cash gift, according to MasterCard.
The study also revealed that most (78%) like to shop for gifts a week in advance, or even earlier. However, when it comes to last minute shopping, it is men (34%) that are more likely to leave it until the last minute than women (27%).
“With personalisation and thoughtfulness being the clear trend when it comes to gifting, we think these insights will be revealing for retailers as they look to maximise opportunities for 2015. MasterCard has always looked to provide retailers around the world with insights and solutions that will drive growth. With this study and other data including The Digital Sharing and Trust Study, exploring what consumers go online to accomplish, SpendingPulse, which tracks retail sales across markets and the annual Global Destination Cities Index, MasterCard is able to provide retailers with the intelligence to help plan for tomorrow,” Javier Perez, President of MasterCard Europe said.
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