United Kingdom (UK) All Year Gifting Retail Market - Analyzing Trends, Consumer Attitudes, Occasions and Major Players

United Kingdom (UK) All Year Gifting Retail Market - Analyzing Trends, Consumer Attitudes, Occasions and Major Players

Summary

The All year gifting 2023 report forms part of GlobalData’s Retail Occasions series, and offers comprehensive insight into the consumer dynamics and spending habits of consumers for year-round gifting occasions, such as birthdays, weddings and new babies. The report analyses the market, the major players, the main trends, and consumer attitudes.

All year gifting penetration increased this year, with over 90% of consumers stating that they had bought a gift in 2023. Indeed, though this is an improvement on both 2022 and 2021, this is still falling short of pre-pandemic levels as consumers are still recovering from the impact of persistent inflation in the latter half of 2022 and into 2023.

As the pressure on finances from the cost-of-living crisis began to mount in 2022, 61.1% of consumers agreed that they had to cut back on gift purchasing this year due to the cost-of-living crisis. Indeed, consumers stated that they felt worse off financially this year compared to the year before. Though gifting penetration was higher this year than it was in 2022, with consumers who bought gifts funded their spend through a credit card, several dipped into their savings and few used Buy Now Pay Later financing options.

Consumers prioritized buying presents for loved ones, however they did opt to spend beyond their means to do so. Card Factory has come out on top this year, ranked highest by consumers for its promotions of gifts and cards, as well as being best rated in terms of range, price, display, and how interesting its products are. Indeed, Card Factory was the most popular retailer used for both greeting cards and gift wrap purchases this year. Given that Card Factory’s offer is strong throughout the year, and not just catering for specific occasions, such as Christmas or Mother’s Day, the cards and gifts specialist is able to build its reputation as a reliable shopping location all year round.

However, Clintons continues to pose a threat to Card Factory as the mid-market card specialist maintains its lead in perceived quality of cards & gifts. It will be vital for Card Factory to invest in its offer to ensure that items are reasonably priced, but are equally good value for money, to avoid consumers switching away in favour of a better-quality cards or gifts. Clintons is also moving to focus on price, improving its price architecture to attract more shoppers. While this is not a threat yet, due to consumers perceiving Clintons to be a mid-market player, this could prove to be an issue down the line as consumers become aware of its lower price point offer.

Scope

• Shopping for wedding gifts and souvenirs both increased in 2023 as consumers took advantage of being able to go on holiday and the post-pandemic wedding boom came to fruition.
• Consumers turned to finance options to spend beyond their means on cards & gifts this year, with credit card usage, buy now pay later finance options both increasing on 2022.
• Card Factory proved most popular among all year gifting shoppers, ranked highest by consumers for its promotions of gifts & cards, as well as being best rated in terms of range, price, display and how interesting its products are.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on consumers attitudes and shopping behaviours.
• Understand what drives consumers to use a retailer for their purchases, such as convenience, value for money and delivery options in order to maximise sales potential.
• Use our in-depth consumer insight to learn which areas within all year gifting shopping are most important to ensure that product offers are catering to the needs and wants of customers - for example whether consumers believe they should give a card and/or gift for a certain occasion.