Discover What the Gift-Giver Expects in Giving

Gift givers have expectations. If those expectations are met well, the purchaser is ready to share credit with you for that.
     Some expectations concern what the giver’s and the recipient’s friends and family will think about the gift. Does it seem to be expensive enough to fit the occasion? Is it overly intimate or not intimate enough? What message about the relationship between the giver and the receiver does the gift portray?
     What friends and family will think about the gift is highly important to adolescents, according to researchers at Temple University, Jerusalem College of Technology, and University of Haifa. Teens use gifting to influence the impressions others have of them.

• They’re anxious about the possibility that in a joint exchange of gifts, their gift might be incompatible with the message from the gift they receive, which would be embarrassing. 
• They usually want the gift to strengthen the relationship by showing ways in which they are similar to the gift recipient. 
• In other cases, they’ll want to select a gift which carries as neutral a message about the relationship as possible. 
• They recognize that the gifting can carry more than one message. 

     Discover what the gift-giver, especially the adolescent shopper, expects in giving. In your on-the-spot analysis, keep in mind that the actual presentation is only one part of gifting. Anthropologists at University of Florida described these three stages:

• Gestation. What motivates the gift shopper? Perhaps a sense of obligation or a desire to avoid discomfort if someone gives a gift and you don’t have one in exchange? At the other extreme is the motivation of selfless love. When you sense this, help the shopper focus as much on what the gift giver wants to communicate as on what the gift recipient likes. According to the research by international marketing consultants Millward Brown, the act of coming to the store in itself shows love. About 22% of survey respondents who prefer in-store gift shopping said they believe that the act of personally going to a store adds value to the gift. 
• Presentation. Admiring the gift wrapping and the unwrapping of the gift can be significant components of the ritual. Consider offering gift wrapping as a value-added service. 
• Reformulation. Maybe the recipient doesn’t like the gift. At worst, this can cause the recipient to be sad or angry. Make returns easy so the negative feelings aren’t diverted to your store. 

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Analyze Gifting to Develop Opportunities