According to the latest ASI Holiday Business Gift Survey, employees want more gifts rather than parties this holiday season. At the same time, companies are spending more on gifts, both for their own employees and clients.
What Is the Scope of Corporate Gift Giving Budget Increase?
As the recession wanes, corporations are spending more and are also choosing pricier corporate gifts compared to previous years. For example, average spending per employee gift has gone up from $42 to $45 since the last holiday season. The increase is even more evident when it comes to client and prospective client gifts, with an average cost of about $34, up from $26 a year ago.
According to Incentive?s 2013 Gift IQ Survey, the number of respondents willing to spend $50 to $299 on corporate gifts now stands at 49.9 percent, up from 34.5 percent last year. This is a big change and it proves there?s a market for higher quality corporate gifts. At the same time, the number of respondents spending less than $50 has gone down to 45 percent. Nearly 5 percent of respondents said that they are planning to spend upwards of $299 on corporate gifts, and 2.3 percent will spend more than $1,000. These big spenders will have plenty to choose from this holiday season, from fine watches and accessories to new consumer electronics that can also help boost productivity.
As Corporate Gift Budget Increases, Gift Giving Trends Change
The corporate gift-giving season is just weeks away, and there are a number of new trends worth considering if you are still trying to decide what to give your employees or clients this holiday season:
- Gift cards are still the most popular gifts for employees and clients alike. However, food, beverages, apparel, and accessories are worth considering, as well. Electronic gadgets are overtaking writing instruments in popularity.
- Promotional gifts are also an opportunity to grow brands and surveys indicate they complement ad campaigns quite effectively. When you put your brand on a gift, it means the recipient will be reminded of it every time they see or use the item. There are plenty of ways to keep your branding subtle, from tonal embroidery to debossed logos on leather produts, and a good promotional products consultant can help you acheive the right effect.
- Tiered giving is becoming more popular. If you are planning to give gifts to all of your employees and/or clients, you may not want to treat them all equally. For example, it may make sense to give your top clients a gift of higher value and then give the rest a more budget-friendly item. This kind of tiered giving structure not only makes economic sense, it provides you an opportunity to select gifts that will resonate more strongly with each segment of your audience.
With the average corporate gift getting more expensive, there is more competition amongst corporate gift givers to find the latest, hottest, greatest products that will wow their list of recipients. This is where having an experienced promotional products consultant is critical. Here at parsonsKellogg, we dedicate a lot of time to researching trends, knowing when new products are introduced, and building strong relationships with suppliers so that we have access to new product launches early. While time is running out to order your 2013 holiday gifts, its not too late – yet. Give us a call and we’ll help find the right item that can be delivered in time for this holiday season!
