“Paper” or Plastic? Gift Cards and the Changing Face of Gifting

The Hartman Group, Inc. : HartBeat

Environmental issues may be forcing grocery stores and other retailers to rethink and replace one type of plastic (the plastic bag), while plastic of another kind, the prepaid gift card, is quickly supplanting “paper” as the gift of choice for a majority of American consumers.

The gift card market is a multi-billion dollar industry. Prepaid gift cards have seemingly become the perfect answer to the age-old question of “what to give” for any occasion. Extending beyond other old-fashioned forms (e.g., cash, checks, paper gift certificates) and morphing to include diverse categories (retail, phone, books, movies, music, debit/credit) gift card buying and giving continues to gain in popularity.

According to Gift Cards Purchase & Redemption, Pre-Holiday Outlook 2008, a report by The Hartman Group, Inc. and A National Research Network (NRN), nearly three-quarters of Americans have either purchased or received a gift card over the past year. Gift cards change how consumers shop for any number of gift-giving occasions, the most important of which is the holiday shopping season.

Father’s Day Lament: ‘No Mon, No Fun, Your Son’

] Fewer consumers–70% versus 77% last year–plan to buy one or more
gifts this Father’s Day. Furthermore, they’ll spend $115 on average, or 8% less
than in 2007, according to the 2008 installment of an annual survey conducted
by Brand Keys. This year, so few reported planning to buy dad a computer that
this item didn’t even make the list.

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MediaPost Publications - Father’s Day Lament: ‘No Mon, No Fun, Your Son’ - 05/29/2008

The sinking economy affected Mother’s Day spending a bit, and it looks like it’s going to hurt fathers even more.

Fewer consumers–70% versus 77% last year–plan to buy one or more gifts this Father’s Day.

Shoppers Plan To Cut Back On Mom’s Big Day

One exception to the new conservatism is jewelry. While the NRF poll
found that fewer shoppers overall will buy mama some bling (29.7% versus 32.8%
last year), they’ll spend much more when they do. Overall, these shoppers
expect to spend $2.7 billion, compared to $2.1 billion last year.

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MediaPost Publications - Shoppers Plan To Cut Back On Mom’s Big Day - 04/23/2008

Looks like that Mother’s Day bouquet may be a little less lavish this year. A new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) finds that consumers, while still planning on buying gifts for Mom, will tone it down a little. Consumers say they plan to spend an average of $138.63 this year, down 51 cents from last year. Total consumer spending is expected to reach $15.8 billion.

Scrooge, Cupid Hook Up As Recession Bites Romance

Only 61% of men plan to buy a card, for example, compared with 69% last year,
and only 40% will buy candy, compared with 44% last year. Flowers and
perfume–also V-Day standbys–both came in flat, at 49% and 6%, respectively. A
few smaller categories registered slight gains, including fine jewelry (12%,
compared with 10% from last year), lingerie (8%, compared to 6% from last year),
and clothing, up to 7% from 5% last year.

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MediaPost Publications - Scrooge, Cupid Hook Up As Recession Bites Romance - 02/11/2008
A NEW SURVEY SHOWS THAT while many retailers are hoping Valentine’s Day might provide a much-needed sales spark, consumer spending may well be more frugal than passionate.

While men say they are planning to spend a little more than last year —$95 compared to $92 in 2007–women are cutting back, and say they intend to plan to spend just $67, compared with $74 last year, reports TNS Retail Forward, a consulting group in Columbus, Ohio.

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Major Retailers Feel the Squeeze From Consumers

Once seemingly invincible marquee chains like Coach, Starbucks and
Abercrombie & Fitch are settling for ho-hum growth this winter.

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Major Retailers Feel the Squeeze From Consumers - New York Times
As the nation’s merchants began poring — or weeping — over holiday sales receipts Wednesday, a surprising pattern emerged: even brands that for years have inspired the undying devotion of shoppers felt the pinch of tightening wallets.

Once seemingly invincible marquee chains like Coach, Target, Starbucks and Abercrombie & Fitch are settling for ho-hum growth this winter, after surpassing even the most rosy expectations season after season.

Though they sell very different products, at very different prices,
these companies all shared the same bragging rights. Their customers
considered them indispensable, even expressions of who they were.

But in this turbulent economy, the indispensable is becoming disposable.

Holiday Shoppers Greened Up Their Act, Survey Finds

When consumers had the opportunity, they purchased gifts to fit their social
conscience,” says KPMG. “The ‘green quotient’ and a product’s country of origin
have become important concerns for shoppers, due mainly to recent publicity on
the environment and manufacturing issues in emerging markets.

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MediaPost Publications - Holiday Shoppers Greened Up Their Act, Survey Finds - 12/27/2007
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE economy wasn’t the only thing on shoppers’ minds this holiday. Concerns about planet Earth and global manufacturing also influenced where consumers shopped for holiday gifts this season, reports KPMG in its annual National Shopping Behavior Survey.

To be sure, the economic issues that have kept prognosticators up at night were also a major factor, with only 30% of those polled planning to increase holiday spending (compared with an average of 36% in the three prior annual surveys.)

Study: More Men Than Women Put Off Holiday Shopping

More dawdling signals that consumers are worried
about money or that they’re holding out for price cuts. And so far, the
average person is delaying shopping compared with last year, but not by
much. The NRF reports that the average person has completed 52.6% of
holiday shopping, compared to 53.1% at this time last year.

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MediaPost Publications - Study: More Men Than Women Put Off Holiday Shopping - 12/20/2007
MEN PROCRASTINATE. REALLY! IN WHAT will surely come as a bolt from the blue to many people, men are procrastinators, especially when it comes to toughing it out with the holiday throngs at the local mall.

In a survey of shoppers about their holiday shopping plans, the National Retail Federation (NRF) finds that 19.4% of all men hadn’t even started shopping as of Dec. 11. The same was true of 13.7% of women, and 17.6% all young adults, ages 18 to 24. And a total of 25 million consumers say they have completely wrapped up all their holiday shopping, which should make for more parking places for the 35 million who have not yet begun to shop.

Boomers discover that it’s easy being green

In a Christmas shopping season following Al Gore’s Nobel-Prize winning
activism, more consumers say they are trying to “shop green.”

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Boomers discover that it’s easy being green - USATODAY.com
In a Christmas shopping season in which former vice president Al Gore won a Nobel Prize for his work alerting the world to the dangers of global warming, more consumers say they are trying to “shop green.”

One in five people surveyed said they will buy more eco-friendly products this holiday and shop more at “green” retailers that make efforts to save energy and resources in their stores and operations, according to Deloitte, a consulting firm.

For Toddlers, Toy of Choice Is Tech Device

Toy makers and retailers are filling shelves with new tech devices for children
ages 3 and up, and sometimes even down. They say they are catering to junior
consumers who want to emulate their parents and are not satisfied with fake
gadgets. Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes magazine, says there has been
“a huge jump in the last 12 months” in toys that involve looking at a
screen.

Six of the nine best-selling toys for 5- to 7-year-olds on
Amazon.com yesterday were tech gadgets. For all of 2006, three of the top nine
toys for that age group were tech-related. The so-called youth electronics
category now accounts for more than 5% of all toy sales.

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For Toddlers, Toy of Choice Is Tech Device - New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28 — Cellphones, laptops, digital cameras and MP3 music players are among the hottest gift items this year. For preschoolers.

Toy makers and retailers are filling shelves with new tech devices for
children ages 3 and up, and sometimes even down. They say they are
catering to junior consumers who want to emulate their parents and are
not satisfied with fake gadgets.

All I Want for Christmas Is a Compost Bin

Eco-friendly retailers are touting ‘Green’ holiday presents, carbon-offset gift certificates and other environmentally friendly gifts. While it’s difficult to track the sales of all so-called green or eco-friendly goods, demand for more energy-efficient appliances has grown recently, as have purchases of organic products.

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All I Want for Christmas Is a Compost Bin - WSJ.com
Are soy candles and spinning composters on your holiday list this year? A bevy of so-called green retailers are hoping so.

With so much public attention on climate change and sky-high oil prices, these retailers are pitching energy-saving or recycled items that haven’t traditionally been on most people’s wish lists — a low-energy desk lamp, for example. And while many retailers have boasted luxury wrapping in past years, companies are this year proffering natural and biodegradable packaging — or none at all.