Gifting Practices: Is it Really the Thought that Counts? An Abstract

Gift giving is prevalent in most cultures as it is a symbolistic ritual of love, care, and often help build social relations (Anton et al. 2014; Areni 1998; Belk 1976). In the United States, consumers give gifts to friends and loved ones on multiple occasions every year. In 2016, it was estimated that Americans spent $929 on average per person on holiday gifts (American Research Group cited in Backman 2016). Gift giving, hereafter gifting, is such an important aspect of life, that 56% of U.S. consumers planned to accumulate debt in order to give gifts during the 2016 holiday season (Backman 2016).

The aim of this research is to examine if there are differences in gifting practices across demographic factors among U.S. consumers. From a marketing viewpoint, generational differences in consumers focus on values, attitudes, and consumption preferences (Urbain et al. 2013). Drawing on Davies et al.’s definition of “the gift,” we define gifting practices to include the planning, searching, shopping, and the act of giving something without the expectation of immediate compensation. The current study examines gifting practices in general and did not focus on a specific holiday or event. As recent gifting research has called for more quantitative approaches in gifting research (Davies et al. 2010), we contribute to the literature by doing an empirical analysis of current gifting practices.

After informal interviews with 33 informants, we designed a questionnaire focusing on different aspects of gifting. The questionnaire included sections on emotions involving gifting, closeness of relationship to the recipient, reasons for gifting, among other factors. We examined the difference of gifting behavior across gender, across two combined age group categories—Gen Z and Millennials (younger) and Gen X and Baby boomers (older), as well as across income levels. We further examined shopping environment preferences (e.g., online vs. in-store). Our study shows an interaction effect with deal proneness and age group on gifting behavior. Results reveal significant interaction effects of deal proneness and age, on the enjoyment of gifting and involvement with the gifting process. Additionally, we examined how to deal proneness in gift shopping affects consumer acquisition of gifts in terms of in-store versus online purchases.