Clothes and Sweets are the most popular gifting items among Indians, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen India on its Your Voice online research panel.
The Nielsen survey found nearly eight in 10 Indians (77%) selected Clothes, Sweets (including chocolates- 69 %) and Books (49%) as their preferred gifting items. However, differences emerge across different age groups in terms of gifting items, budgets and shopping channels.
While Sweets, Clothes and Books are universally popular; they tend to be more popular with the mature group aged 45 and above, while the younger crowd (15-24 years) prefers to give away technology gadgets such as mobile phones and MP3 players.
“The way technology has entered our lives in the last 10 years has been amazing, and is deeply affecting young people in their twenties who have grown up with it,” commented N. S. Muthukumaran, Director, Online Panel, The Nielsen Company, India. “To many, it is cool to be seen with the latest model of phone or music system and giving one as a present is in the same league, albeit a costly option for these young folks.”
Popular new-age gift ideas include holidays (travel and accommodation), travel tickets and tickets to amusement parks. It was noteworthy that about 20 percent would like to give wine as a gift.
Where people are buying their Gifts: Despite relatively high Internet access among people surveyed, 'Shops' (88%) are the most popular place to shop for gifts, followed by 'Malls' (80%), with more than half indicating they would shop online.