Posts Tagged ‘souvenirs’
When it comes to finding gifts, America shops Wal-Mart and Target, according to Gifting Report 2007. The survey, published this month by Unity Marketing, found that 42 percent of gift seekers chose Wal-Mart for gift purchases and 31 percent bought presents at Target in 2006. In fact, discount department stores swept all eight categories of gift purchases in the survey:
- consumables (food, candy, wine),
- clothing and/or fashion accessories (purses, shoes, wallets),
- jewelry and watches,
- personal care products (cosmetics, perfumes, bath products),
- home furnishings and household operations products (decorative accents, housewares, home textiles, china, glass and tableware, small household appliances),
- “giftables” (flowers, candles, greeting cards, stationery, seasonal decorations, figurines),
- entertainment and recreation goods (books, toys, sporting goods, video/audio, DVDs, cameras, computers, games), and
- store gift certificates
The survey tracked the gift buying habits of more than 2,800 gift shoppers. Respondents were 50 percent male and 50 percent female, with an average age of 42.7 and an average income of $62,875. In 2006, the gift givers surveyed spent an average of $2,643 on gift purchases and an average of $78 on gift accessories such as gift cards, wrapping paper and ribbons. These spending averages reflect a 13.5 percent increase over 2005.
While Christmas, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day remain the top ranked gift holidays, more gift giving is occurring year-round. Nearly 42 percent of the average annual gift budget goes to gift occasions throughout the year (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and travel souvenirs) as opposed to gifts for the major holidays. Analysts noted that 42 percent figure — the percentage of the average gift budget spent throughout the year — is increasing, up from 38.5 percent in 2005.
Tags: anniversary, birthday, choosing gifts, christmas, father's day, mother's day, shopping, souvenirs, surveys, valentine's day
“Love is a promise, love is a souvenir,
once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.”
(John Lennon)
I don’t travel for business often, maybe once a year. But when I do, I always bring something back for my wonderful wife. Sometimes, it’s a souvenir that reflects the city I am visiting. For example, when I visited San Francisco, I gave my wife a wooden cable car filled with Ghiradelli chocolates. Plus, I bought home a “Sweet Dreams” sleep shirt illustrated with chocolate truffles.
But some of my best received gifts came from places like Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware. In 2003, I had a lot of training at a facility near Oak Brook Center, the largest open-air shopping center in the U.S. At the Crate & Barrel, I found a glass trifle bowl on one trip and a bronze Bandero vase on another. And nothing comforts like a five-pound chenille throw from Restoration Hardware. In Nashville, I found BLACKLION, a North Carolina-based furniture and accents store. I bought an arts-and-crafts-style bronze wine rack.
These gifts show my appreciation for helping me prepare for my trip and these tokens let her know that I’m thinking of her while I’m away.
Tags: chocolate+candy, for her, gift ideas, shopping, souvenirs, travel
