Based on a survey of more than 1 200 US consumers on gifting behaviour, eGifter has disclosed trends around emerging technologies that influence how, when, why and for whom people gift.
According to the eGifter 2014 Trends in Digital Gifting Study:
* 27% of consumers plan to use some form of mobile payments in the next six months.
* Most (57%) consumers say they prefer to receive gift cards, mostly because of the flexibility they offer.
* Yet, 37% think they will be seen as less thoughtful when giving a gift card.
* Millennials want higher ticket electronics, gaming and tech accessories that cost more than a consumer's budget for a single gift.
* Younger consumers are nearly three times as likely to prefer electronics, gaming and tech accessories compared to their elders.
* 48% of people shop online for gifts, compared to 41% at a retail store, and 71% of people are less likely to return a gift if they have to ship it.
* 57% of consumers over the age of 60 say they give gift cards during the holiday season, with cash not far behind (42%).
* Younger consumers, aged 26 to 35, are more likely to give gift cards (53%) than cash (19%).
* Clothing and apparel play a close second to gift cards as the most gifted across age groups, with an average of 54% of consumers saying they planned to gift clothing in the holiday season, which is problematic given the high rate of returns for clothing and apparel.
* Millennials are more than twice as likely to give entertainment gifts, such as movie tickets, as consumers over 60 (46% versus 21%), and also more likely to gift alcohol (34% versus 16%).
* Male consumers, at 45%, are more likely than females to shop online.
* Female consumers are more likely to gift for a wider range of holidays and special occasions, such as friends' birthdays, graduations, baby showers and Father's Day.
* 49% of people received a gift over the past year that they did not like or that did not fit them, but did not return it.
* 21% of consumers planned to re-gift in the 2014 holiday season.
* While 55% will return or exchange a gift they do not want, 12% will just leave it in the closet.
* 54% of consumers planned to gift clothing and apparel during the 2014 holiday season, yet 55% of people say it is the category for which they are also most likely to return items.
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